Tribute Chronicles
by PrimitivePacman
Summary: DISCLAIMER! We own nothing but our OCs. Written by sliceofpie and myself. The siblings Arnold and Lorna Asters are reaped, only one will surive, if at all. Rated M merely for violence, there maybe an F-bomb and hinted sexual content.
1. Chapter 1

_A Hunger Games fic, written by sliceofpie and PrimitivePacman. Pie wrote anything concerning Arnold or Maggie, and PrimitivePacman wrote anything concerning Lorna and Raul. Hope you like it _

_**The Reaping**_

Lorna's mother was as hectic as ever, but this time she had a reason. It was the Reaping. And she was frantically praying for her children to be safe. For that very reason, Lorna hadn't gone down to the beach that day. Which was where she spent most of her time. Perhaps even all of her time, if she hadn't had family to be with. She spent her days quite happily, if also a tad odd, walking the entire length of the shore and then back, sometimes with friends, sometimes with Arnold, sometimes alone. Going to school when she had to. Her mother called her 'her lamb' or 'her dove', because of Lo's genteel spirit and sweet, if not seemingly naive nature.

So naturally, her mother was terrified of Reapings, fearing the loss of her lamb, praying for her children's protection.

As was Lorna. Yes, true, she had received incredibly minimal training, as had her brother Arnold. But only just in case. They were no Careers.

Not to say they couldn't be, if they had been of a different mentality, but it wasn't their goal. They wanted to be safe.

So Lorna was quiet that morning, unlike her usual chatty self. She let her mother talk her into leaving her dark red hair open and even let her mother use whatever bits of makeup they had saved up on her.

Lorna was generally easily upset, and on Reaping Day more so, but her family was different, they always seemed to keep her calm.

Not that she wasn't a calm person.

She was indeed rather calm; maybe it was just a District trait. She was District Four, the fishing District. The swimming District. The lay in the sun District. She was calm. Except when someone she cared for was threatened in any way. Like Reapings.

Thankfully she had Arnold. The siblings were as close as could be, loved each other unconditionally, though he was older.

It was time.

Lorna and Arnold made their way to their respective parts in the crowd, but not once did they stop looking at each other. Not once did they lose the gaze of the other.

"Boys first," the two whispered as Anna, the district representative, announced it like a joyous greeting.

Boys first this year...

Arnold was the cool, calm and collected type. And normally, he was quite happy with his existence, working on the fishing boats and just generally being out with the sea. But he hated the Reapings. True, their family had never been affected, but it was only a matter of time, right?

Sighing, he donned his straight black trousers, light blue shirt (which his mother forced him to tuck in) and black shoes, running his hands through his rough brown hair. This year, he worried a bit more. Both he and Lorna had signed up for the tesserae. And he figured his mother had got no sleep last night because of it.

Together, he, his mother, and two little sisters (Lorna and the youngest, Jaina, who was only eight so had no worries as of yet) made their way to the main square. And just before he and Lorna parted ways, he squeezed her hand.

"It won't be us," he whispered, weaving through the crowd of his classmates, neighbours, and all the other faces he knew. He glanced once at Lorna, who was staring resolute this year. He swallowed his throat surprisingly dry.

He realised he hadn't been paying attention.

"...Boys first!""

Their district's representative stuck a clawed nailed hand into the glass bowl, and his heart seemed to stop. Everything moved in slow motion, like every year, and the woman (Anna, maybe?) moved so slowly. The boys name. What was it? Her lips moved, but no sound rushed into his ears. Then he realised it was because he was being pushed forward, and he realised what it must have read.

Arnold Asters.

He stumbled on stage, his lips dry and his mind a mess. He could hear his mother. Sobbing. Begging someone to volunteer.

But no one did.

He shook Anna's hand, stepping to the side as she dug around in the girl's names. He had become numb. Nothing. He felt nothing.

Lorna felt the whole world stop spinning when she heard her brother's name. Frozen like a deer in headlights she stared in horror and Anna called out one more name.

And even her voice faltered.

_"L-Lorna Asters."_

That was it. A hush over the crowd. Everyone knew what this meant. Only one could come back alive. If even.

That was too much for their mother, who was sobbing on her knees, clutching their youngest sister. Jaina was crying as well.

She was vaguely aware of walking to the stage, but she ignored Anna, ignored the cameras. She just ran into Arnolds arms and held on tightly.

No one dared separate them. The entire area was utterly silent.

But Anna had to continue sometime.

"Ehm- Well isn't this exciting! Happy Hunger Games, and let's let the Mentors welcome our two Tributes."

And like that, Arnold was pushed off the stage. Separated from his sister, who ended up stretching her arms towards him, sobbing. He called to her, still numb.

"It'll be alright, Lorna, it'll be alright!"

He watched as he was dragged towards a room as Finnick, their mentor (who'd only just won last year) shook his head in pity. He was probably actually younger than Arnold, and Arnold realised the older woman next to him was probably going to help out.

Arnold sat with his hands in his lap, waiting for his mother to come and bid her goodbyes.


	2. Chapter 2

_**Departures**_

When their mother came, she was nearly impossible to understand. A wreck. Jaina was crying, too, and Arnold just wished he hadn't had to say goodbye, because it was too final. He knew, at the bottom of his heart, he'd never return. He'd let Lorna win, if it came to that. But he wouldn't be coming back.

And his mother had figured that out, too.

Resolute, he was led to the train, where he sat with his head in his hands in his compartment. He didn't surface until dinner, still in his Reaping clothes. Ushered along, he sat at a table across from Anna, the overweight and flamboyant rep, and Finnick, the heart throb, and...Mags. That was her name. He hadn't even been alive to watch her compete.

He waited for Lorna, his eyes downcast to the table, of which was completely silent.

Lorna waited for her mother and when she arrived the three women of the family just held each other and sobbed.

Her mother whispered one thing. Over and over.

_"Come back to me. My lamb, my dove."_

Lorna knew she'd already seen Arnold and she was clever enough to know what he'd probably decided.

Well. They'd see about that. For then all she could do was make this as painless as possible.

"I will."

She felt another well of tears flood her eyes as they were basically ripped from her arms. She heard herself screaming for them, even after they were gone.

Lorna wasn't made for this. She just wasn't. She was made for everyday life. For being with her family. She wasn't made for the Games. No one was made for murder.

So she was basically useless until she was fetched for dinner. She just lay on the bed and sobbed, sometimes crying, sometimes sobbing, sometimes screaming.

Apparently the compartment was soundproof, so no one witnessed her weakness except the Avox girl with similar hair to hers, except hers was more a vibrant red, whereas Lorna's was dark. The Avox looked like her mother. Which just set her off again.

Sooner rather than later Lorna was summoned to dinner.

Still in a half stupor she treaded to the dining car and sat between Mags and Finnick, Arnold across from her diagonally.

Wearing a weary poker face she poked at the food in silence.

She'd managed to keep her emotions in check as long as she didn't see Arnold. As long as she didn't look at him, she wouldn't cry.

What really shocked her, so much in fact, that she dropped her glass, was when Mags' usually hazy disposition straightened and she clearly said,

"Not fair."

Lorna began to cry, yet again and Anna just looked like she was in the most awkward situation ever.

"Cheer up, eh? Cutie?" Finnick tried his usual approach, which just earned him a glare from Arnold.

Arnold poked at his food, taking small, dry mouthfuls of whatever rich dish was offered. Anna cleared her throat, pressing a button on a small remote as a screen lowered.

"Well, we don't have all the time in the world, so we may as well get started!" she began, her chipper disposition grating on Arnold now. He brought his sea-blue eyes up, meeting the bright picture.

And there he watched a summary of all his competition, marching up onto the stage and meeting their fate. And he knew he should be taking notes. But he didn't. He couldn't look at those trained guys and assassin-type girls. Those who had been trained. Those who had natural training. Those who didn't.

Did he even stand a chance?

Then he saw his own face. Emotionless. And then, Lorna's. Full of emotion. A pan shot of the crowd, staring in stunned silence. Their mother, screaming. And then his face again, contorted with a mix of emotions, light brown hair contrasting with shocking blue eyes. And he realised then that he needed to start believing that he could get Lorna to the end.

He sat up straighter, finishing his food.

"How long until we get to the Capitol?"

"Only a day, dear," Anna answered quickly. Finnick shook his head, looking almost haunted as he remembered this time last year for him, the Capitol generally striking some fear into him.

Arnold pushed himself away from the table. As cruel as it felt, he felt an obligation to space himself from Lorna. Maybe make her hate him. So when he told her to kill him, should it come to it, he wouldn't have to force her.

He knew that would never work. But he turned on his heel, heading back to his room and curling into a ball on his bed. Tomorrow he would be thrown to the wolves, and styled horrifically. It would happen. And he couldn't stop it.

Lorna watched the video, a few tears straying from her eyes still, but she watched, she felt her heart clench at the sight of her mother sobbing, and was oddly impressed by the male Tribute from Seven. But she didn't catch his name, she was still preoccupied with the image of herself at her Reaping. All she saw was a small and terrified girl, sentenced to death. Not the works of a girl who could win the Games.


	3. Chapter 3

_**Realisations**_

There was a knock on Arnold's door, but the knocker didn't wait to come in.

Lorna entered, wearing a Capitol style pyjama in bright pink, clashing horrible with her hair.

"Arnold? I'm done crying, I swear." she was, too. She was empty. She was in shock of the whole thing. And she knew that without her brother, she would not make it far. What she also knew, was that even with him, she didn't see how she could win.

"Can I sleep here? I don't want to sleep alone..." she whispered.

Arnold peeked around, snorting at Lorna's appearance.

"What the fuck are you wearing? I refused to even touch the pyjamas I found in that drawer. Hence why I am sleeping in trousers and a shirt," he began, shrugging. "I was kind of looking forward to contemplating how not to get murdered but the Careers. By...by myself."

And that was his answer. Cruel. It hurt him to say it to his little sister.

But he didn't want to realise exactly how much pain he'd be in if he ever had to fight her.

"I couldn't stay in those clothes, they reminded me of home." She almost flinched at his words.

But then a spark of her usual self shone through her pathetic stupor, "Stop talking like that. Don't- don't let it change you." She sat next to him.

"What are we going to do?"

Arnold rolled his eyes.

"What do you mean, what are we going to do? What happens every year. People fight. People die. Only one person wins. And it isn't going to be me," he stated, simply, not meeting her eyes.

"Why not? Why couldn't it be you? They won't let it end without some sort of showdown, they'll try to make it be us, but there are no guarantees."

"You're right. And I'm not going to win. Now go. I want to sleep," Arnold said, hating the supposed malice her heard on his own voice.

"Fine!" She slammed his door on the way out; unable to understand why he was acting like this.

Childish as it may have seemed, she had to let out her frustration. So she took a beautiful glass vase and wished with all her might that she could smash it.

But she didn't.

Finnick stopped her.

"You won't get any sponsors if you break their stuff."

Lorna didn't answer. But she did set the vase down.

"I don't know why he's acting like this." She muttered.

"Your brother? Yeah, that's the Games, sweet cheeks. It's what they do to people." For a moment his eyes turned sad. She bit her lip, thinking of Finnicks friend, Annie. Everyone knew Annie had lost something in her mind in the Arena. But what scared Lorna most, was that before the Games, she and Annie had been very much alike. And somewhere deep inside, Lorna knew she wouldn't leave the arena much better off than Annie had. And she was pretty sure Finnick knew that, too.

Lorna shook her head, "He'll come to his senses. He will."

Finnick looked at her sadly and the redhead turned to go to her room.


	4. Chapter 4

_**Arrivals**_

All too soon...they arrived.

They were hurried off the train after breakfast, Arnold yet again refusing to wear the Capitol clothing and earning a few disapproving looks from his prep team.

They introduced themselves as Flavia, Quintilla and Regulus. And they were a mixture of gaudy colours that made Arnold feel almost sick to his stomach.

They discussed him as though he wasn't there. They said how they should draw attention to his eyes. Play up his tanned skin. Wax his eyebrows.

And as much as he wanted to disagree, it was completely out of his power. So he allowed them to primp him, polish him, and wax his eyebrows into a more uniformed shape. Then they left him, with nothing but a towel.

"Sulla will be here in a minute, darling," Quintilla stated, as the three left the room. And Arnold could only assume Sulla was his stylist. Great. He'd seen some of his work.

Well, if previous years were to go by, he'd be parading around in very, very little. Joy.

Silently, Lorna let the prep team work on her. Show her tan, smooth her hair. Yes. Her hair was an eye catcher. Tan skin, dark red hair and blue eyes. A rare combination outside her District, though in her district it wasn't uncommon.

After the painful things they left her in a towel and Grant arrived.

He seemed nice, a bit odd to her. Very concerned with his moustache, which was green and very long, he kept twirling it around his finger in thought. It sort of freaked her out.

She was also rather afraid of what she'd have to wear. 'Very little' was not her thing.

But that wasn't even what he had in mind, thank God.

He said he wanted to 'sell her innocence and fear'

Well he could have that.

And plenty of it.

So, Lo was given a light blue dress, that sparkled and pooled at her feet, turning darker as it went down, like the ocean.

Her hair was down in soft waves, thought that process might have traumatized her. They'd smeared a paste in it and all of the sudden it had grown longer, now ending mid back.

Her eyes were big and emotions could be seen clearly from the big screen she'd be shown on.

The only emotion apparent on her made up face was fear.

But Arnold...Arnold was not representing innocence and fear. Sulla had him draped in what he guessed was meant to be a net mixed with a sail of some sort, in some kind of loin cloth fashion. He also had a trident and net, and he sighed as they worked on him some more, even dabbing bits of makeup on his face and drawing wave patterns down his arms. He hated life.

But, at least he realised, as he passed a mirror, he didn't look too bad almost naked. Embarrassed enough, but at least working on ships and hauling in nets of fish left him muscular. Maybe that was what they were going for, trying to make him the hot commodity this year. He doubted it highly, District One tended to win that, but bless his team for trying.

He was pretty much dragged backstage for the parade. And he was very aware of himself as he looked around, leaning against his chariot as his prep team fussed at him, Anna babbled, and Finnick snorted at his appearance. He shot him a glance.

"Hey, you looked kind of like this last year. Shut it."

But then he saw his sister. And he then realised exactly what his prep team were doing.

She was the innocent one who needed the sponsor's support. And he was prepared and ready to fight for what it took. He was muscular, and well seasoned. Lorna was not.

It was as simple as that, he realised, as Sulla rubbed some sort of lotion over his body to make him shine.

He sighed again.

Great one.

Lorna saw her brother's look and no matter how weird the two were at the moment she couldn't help the snort that escaped her.

The moment of laughter was cut short by his look and Finnick looked at him sharply as Mags just patted her shoulder and muttered "Pretty".

Worry lines creased her forehead, which just caused Grant to frown even more.

Great. Just great.

"Arnold." she almost demanded his attention, "I don't like this either, but I'm going to need you, you can't just leave me like this," she hissed, pulling him close.

Arnold raised an eyebrow, allowing her to pull him nearer to her.

"Don't you look nice," he commented, being practically pushed into the chariot. He quickly glanced at everyone else and was relieved to find that at least District Twelve had more embarrassing outfits than his.

"Don't do this to me!" she didn't even force a smile. They should see what they had done. What they were going to ruin.

So she let all her emotions shine clearly on her face. This would probably ruin any attempt that her team or Anna had made to make her seem sweet and smiling.

She just looked weak and sad and very tired for the fact that she had only been there for a day or so.

Arnold actually acted the part as the doors swung open and the chariots rolled out, the hot lights making the lotion glisten on his body and the waves on his arms glitter as he stared at the cameras, his face set, but letting a smirk play on his lips. He even occasionally winked at a few female members of the audience. He'd watched enough of these parades to know how they worked. At least he didn't look like the guy from Five, who looked like he'd run into a few too many doors.

"The audience need something to work with if you want to survive," he muttered to Lorna, grasping her hand and raising them both into the air, to a wave of 'Aww' from the audience.

Lorna looked at him and when he raised her hand she gave the audience something to work with.

She started crying. Not sobbing or anything, but she let tears run down her face from her blue eyes, now every bit the pity party that the audience was touched by.

And she was genuinely getting upset at Arnold. It was like one minute he was ignoring her, the next he was helping, or something like it.

It was confusing as hell, she was sad as hell, she was frustrated as hell and this whole place was just hell.

Bloody hell.

Literally.

"Choose a side Arnold, are you trying to help me or hate me?" she whispered, looking like a poor little girl with whom the audience could have a pity party.

Arnold's face didn't falter, his blue eyes playing up his tanned skin and brown hair. He saw himself in the big screens and was actually shocked that he was beginning to look like the token super-hunky guy they had every year.

And they generally got sponsors. But he wouldn't raise his hopes too high.

"I have, Lorna," was all he said, as the chariots made one last round and people clapped. "Now keep doing whatever you're doing. Wait."

Then he wrapped an arm around her, pulling her close and raising a hand to the camera, his face still serious. It was clear to the audience what he meant by that – he would support her at all costs.

The chariots headed back to backstage, and Arnold relinquished hold of Lorna for the moment as Finnick and Mags nodded their approval. Anna clapped excitedly and a few of the District's tributes shot interested looks at them.

Surprise colouring her features for a moment she let him hold her and felt her stance relaxing in the familiar feeling. Tears stilling running down her face as she sniffled softly. It was all real, too real for her. And surreal at the same time.

Anna approached her backstage to congratulate her on her 'performance', which only earned her a glare from the Tribute.

Startling Lorna turned around sharply as she felt a light tap on her shoulder, coming face to face with...a tissue?

Ah, there was a face behind the tissue.

A nice face.

Very nice.

She knew that face...

"Hey, looks like you might need this?"

It was the male tribute from District Seven, dark hair and dark green eyes. Lorna tried to remember what his District stood for. Ah, Lumber!

Hence the look he sported. The team had tried to go with something traditional to win nostalgia points, so they'd given him a red checked shirt, and tight, dark pants.

Heart-winning and obvious that his team was playing a similar card with him as Arnolds was with him.

But he did looked the part, about seventeen, maybe sixteen. Muscular. Soft smile. The beginnings of stubble on his cheeks and chin.

Lorna was not a fool, but he seemed to genuinely want to somewhat be nice to her and she was still pretty upset. Given the fact that they were all going to die except one, that was understandable.

"Thank you." She accepted the token and wiped her eyes, careful of the makeup, lest Grant go berserk.

"I didn't catch your name, I'm Raul Porter. Seventeen years old yesterday and not ready for this at all."

"Lorna, Lorna Asters. I'd be seventeen next month, but I severely doubt that's going to happen..."

"Oh, that's you? I didn't recognize you, you and your brother were called in the reaping..." his expression softened.

"Yes. His name is Arnold." She looked down, taking a deep breath to keep from crying, again. That was all she seemed to be doing in the past 48 hours.

Arnold, however, walked straight past Lorna, having pushed his prep team away from rubbing yet more lotion on his chest. He felt...well, he kind of felt dirty. He strode straight past most of the tributes, and to the vehicle that would take him back to the hotel, ignoring the other tributes. He didn't want to get to familiar with the people he'd have to kill.

Because he knew he'd have to.

"Are you okay? Ah- stupid question, I guess. Sorry, I'm trying to deny this is happening as long as I can. I'm not very good with words."

"It's fine, I understand. I don't know. It's so...unreal...to see all these people and think...only one is going to make it..." she tried to ignore that she would never leave the arena alive if Raul did, but if he won she didn't think she'd mind. He seemed nice, honest. Real.

"I think you're doing alright. With words, I mean. Most people can't look me in the eye, granted, I can't do it myself..."

"Yeah, thanks, no problem," he shuddered, "I don't want to kill anyone-" He broke off his sentence, as if he'd told some secret. His words were of no real surprise to Lorna, who definitely didn't want to kill anyone.

"I don't either," she gave him a weak smile, "You're not alone in that." After she met his gaze she gave him the handkerchief back, but he closed her fist around it gently.

"You'll need this, I think. May the odds ever be in your favour, Lorna Asters."

Gratefully she nodded, and then she left. Going after Arnold. To the hotel. Where her heart could calm down. And she could stop making her life so complicated, short as it would likely be.


	5. Chapter 5

_**Training**_

Arnold sat in silence, skipping food and Anna's babble, heading straight to his room and locking his door, before sighing and faceplanting onto his bed. He couldn't help but think this was all so wrong. He felt like a dick. But he also felt like it was needed. There was no way he could even band together with Lorna. That made her a target. Maybe he could get in with the Careers, and pick them off one by one...

He sighed, itching at the paint that formed the waves on his arms and pulling some pyjamas out of the dresser provided. He headed into the bathroom and showered, scrubbing off the makeup, paint, lotion and any other evidence his prep team had been there. Getting changed, he looked at himself in the mirror and realised that he looked a bit more like his old self. Curling up on the bed, he realised training would start soon. And he'd see just who he'd be up against.

Lorna just went to shower. She didn't even take off the dress at first, because she was too far in thought. But she didn't want to think. So she shed the dress and dried off, tumbling into bed and utterly zonking out.

When she awoke she found a white pair of shorts and a blue top lying on the foot of her bed with white tennis shoes.

Training.

Lorna got dressed and came out to where the Tributes ate breakfast and found she was alone with the exception of Raul. Everyone else was probably not up yet, she deduced from her glance at the clock. It was very, very early.

"Sleep well?" Raul asked with a laugh. He had this dry, barking laugh. But it was warm. Even with sarcasm.

"Same as you." Lorna shook her head slightly.

"Sorry, I'm a little...I don't even know what I am. I just don't want this to be real. And I want to go home."

She looked at the toast on her plate as if it was at fault for their fate.

"I know. I don't want to start training, I don't need to see _how_ they're gonna kill me," he tried to lighten the mood and somewhat managed to make her gaze soften.

"Yeah...I don't even know my strengths, or if I have any. I mean, a good aim is nothing if I can't lift what I'm throwing."

"You do," Raul looked slightly flushed at his words, but they made Lorna smile, "Eh...I mean, everyone has one. Or more. You'll handle it somehow."

"Thanks. Pardon me asking, but, why are you being so nice to me?"

"I said I don't want to kill anyone. And I know, I know that if we'd met outside the Games, that we'd be friends."

His answer made sense, but she knew her brother would not be happy. Lo felt the same, though.

"I'll see you at Training then,"

"See you, dove."

With a surprised glance she left but ran into her brother who had watched the two converse.

"Yes, Arnold?"

Arnold raised an eyebrow at his sister.

"Don't get too friendly. You'll have to kill him at some point," he stated, eating some eggs before following Lorna to their meeting with their mentors.

"Don't. Don't, Arnold."

Behind closed doors, talks about training were very different. It was down to what they were good at. Arnold had a small list.

"Swimming. Knots. Fishing," he stated, and then Finnick joined in.

"You shouldn't find spear and javelin use too hard, if you're used to spear-fishing," he added. "Not too bad. Downplay those in training though, and work on knife use. And you, Lorna?"

Lorna bit her lip, "I can swim, but not as well. I have a great aim. So knives..."

Finnick stepped in and added, "Hide that. Show your weak side as strength." Mags agreed with a nod.

"I want you to work on knots. Arnold, show her some knots." Finnick pushed them into the training room, towards a station, and Lorna saw Raul out of the corner of her eye while she tried out the bow and he winked at her, causing her to narrowly miss the boy from Eight's head as she released the arrow.

"Sorry!" She called to him as he glared and Raul stifled a chuckle but smiled at her.

"Concentrate," Mags station advised, gently patting her shoulder, but with a knowing look.

"No, no, it's not what you think-" the woman shook her head smiling, not accepting her explanations and Lorna's cheeks turned red.

Great.

Arnold rolled his eyes, dragging his sister to a knot station and spending a lot longer than he hoped teaching her how to tie the basic knots.

After a while, Arnold decided to usher them on, and Arnold found himself at a knife station with the girl from Twelve. She looked a lot different, fully clothed and not covered in coal dust. Her black hair was pulled back from her pale face and her brown eyes screwed up in concentration. Her hand shook as she aimed, and Arnold was surprised to find that her curved pink lips were equally screwed up in concentration, as she didn't realise he'd slipped in next to her.

It was only after his knife embedded itself in the first ring from the bull's eye that she started, turning to face him.

And he acknowledged her, back to his training. No friends. Enemies.

But she started up conversation anyway.

"You know knives?" she asked, and he shook his head, as he threw another, his aim slightly worse that time, but still not too bad considering he didn't know what he was doing.

"Not at all," he answered, and she nodded.

"People from Twelve don't know much," she sighed. "I'm Maggie, by the way. You're Arnold, right?"

And yet again, everyone knew him. Sob story, right?

"Yeah, I'm Arnold," he stated, a bit short. Then he realised that not everyone had to be his enemy. He could try and make a few allies. The Careers would be a better choice, but he needed a back up. "By the way, you look a hell of a lot better not covered in coal dust or whatever that was."

Then he left, figuring he needed to get to know some Careers sooner, rather than later. He glanced over at Lorna, hoping that she was making semi-decent progress.

Lorna was making some progress. She could tie knots. Not that she saw any use in it and that one knot was still giving her problems.

So she returned to that station and was struggling to undo her failed knot when a pair of strong hands covered hers and easily opened the knot. She looked up and found her face just centimetres away from Raul's. Both seemed to stop breathing. He snapped out of it first, pulling back slightly and handing her the rope.

"Looked like you needed some help," his voice caught and he coughed to cover it.

"Thanks..." She smiled and his brow furrowed in thought. Then he gently tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and smiled before turning to go.

"Wait, ehm...could you help me?" Lorna asked.

He turned back and sat next to her, "I shouldn't, but I will." The way he said it sounded like he meant more than the knot, which confused her slightly, though she supposed she could guess what he meant. She just didn't want to. However she should be grateful, not too many people liked her very much. Grant had been furious that she'd gotten the dress wet; Anna was agitated by her emotional frailty, Finnick didn't dislike her at all, but she felt he pitied her and that was uncomfortable. Raul looked over to Arnold and then back to her before showing her the knot.

Arnold sighed, leaving his sister to Raul. He'd given up, and just made sure to look out for her in the arena – which meant taking as many people out, safely, in the bloodbath that would ensue around the Cornucopia, and making sure he was the main threat and not her.

Raul, anyway, seemed genuine. Arnold glanced at the Career next to him, the guy from One – Ornate. They had such stupid names.

But Arnold did his best to be chummy with him, throwing a javelin well enough to get his attention, but not well enough to be considered an 'eleven' on the scoring system.

He and Ornate talked for a while, and though he decided he'd kill Ornate when he had the chance, if it came down to it, with little hesitation. That is, if he was able to get along well enough to possibly ally with him during the Games.

But as he watched Ornate interact with some of the other Careers, he realised this year was the year to stay away from the Careers. They'd easily kill each other while the other slept. He made a mental note to remember that and alert Lorna to it.

He watched as Ornate turned from another Career, who was holding a spear, and the other Career's gaze lingered on Ornate's back for too long. Just like he was deciding exactly how Ornate would look when decorated with a spear.

Arnold shook his head, smiling at Maggie once more as he joined her at the Bow station. And he was absolutely terrible, and so was she. They laughed at each other's failures, silently vowing never to speak of that again.

They parted ways again, and Arnold headed to the camouflage station as she went to axes.

And he watched her from the corner of his eye as she threw an axe with deadly accuracy.

She surprised even herself, but as he watched she began to disguise the fact this was her talent by making herself seem worse off.

Fair enough. He focused on his own station again.

Lorna tried to move away from knives as quick as possible, but took the time to silently give Raul tips. She wanted to help him. And he was helping her. Silently and shyly, they formed an alliance. The girl found the training session over quickly and was led out by Raul grabbing her small hand. He didn't let go. And this happened every day, after every training session. When she noticed, Anna just rolled her eyes, Finnick seemed wary and Mags just smiled. Oh, Mags. You lovely human being. At least one person. The other Tributes had already written her off as easy to finish and weak. Just as planned.


	6. Chapter 6

_**Numbers**_

Eventually, the time came when they had to be scored. And Raul still didn't let go of her hand. Well, until it was her turn. He surprised her by squeezing her hand and she looked up at Arnold and bit her lip entering.

Wordlessly she noticed the panel not even really paying attention to her. Not until she bit her lip and with a battle cry she flung her knives, four at a time. They all hit the middle of the target.

The panel was quiet and shocked. They had underestimated her.

Hell.

She was surprised too.

Arnold and Maggie slowly formed an alliance – not so much through talking, but by observing each other. Arnold realised that as a girl from Twelve, people vastly underestimated her, but she was good as hell with axes and he figured that had to count for something, as long as it didn't end up with an axe through his chest.

Over the next few days the cycle was repeated, and then the time came when he had to prove himself.

Arnold went in after Lorna, and his eyes briefly danced over the panel. He then walked straight over to the javelins, throwing one after the other and hitting the centre of the targets every time. The power behind each throw proved exactly how muscular he was, and the panel had probably watched the parade anyway, and seen his muscular torso. He also practiced with knives, not doing too badly, but the javelins were the feature that stood out. They watched him quietly, allowing him to leave.

He returned to a room with his mentors, Anna, and Lorna.

"That could have gone worse," he provided, before he was shot with a billion questions at once.

Lorna nodded, "Same here. But I don't think they cared much."


	7. Chapter 7

_**Interviews**_

Before they knew it, it was the day of the interviews and they were whisked away by their stylists.

Grant was really going to play on innocence now. He put her in a dress that was pure white, simple. Long sleeves that flowed over her wrists and fitted to her body, showing how slim she was. Making her seem soft and gentle and less of a threat by having her hair simply open.

And Arnold was pulled away by his prep team, and he was thankful that his outfit was a lot less revealing. Black trousers with a white shirt tucked in. A blue tie and black waistcoat, with a black trilby hat propped on the back of his head.

And still makeup. Minimal, but it still felt weird.

He filed out, in front of his sister. He glanced at Maggie, looking better now in a simple, floor length black dress. Decidedly low cut and her hair pulled over one shoulder, but better than the parade.

She offered him a supporting smile, and he gave her one in return. She actually was borderline pretty, he realised, but she was wearing a shit ton of makeup. Sponsors would see Opal from One as the looker. Not Maggie.

He then realised that the smile lingered on his face a moment longer than it should have.

Worried, he wiped the thought out of his mind and turned to his sister.

"You look nice. Again," he stated, gracing her with a smile. They'd be in the arena tomorrow, he realised. And that was not a thought he wanted. They waited back stage as they flashed the scores to the audience – they were delayed this year as there was a debate about the scores of the Tributes from Seven this year. And this was the first time they were seeing their own.

The Careers scored decidedly high. Lorna scored a seven, higher than he'd thought. Arnold scored a nine, which was what he was hoping for – higher than Lorna. Raul got an eight, and Maggie also scored an eight.

Everyone was murmuring at each other now, and a few glances were shot towards him. They hadn't expected that.

And then they were marched to their seats, waiting for their interviews. Caesar Flickerman strolled onto stage, rallying the Capitol's applause. His hair was bright purple this year, and Arnold couldn't help but roll his eyes. But, of course, they caught that on camera.

Of course, Opal and Ornate, the Tributes from One, had the star quality. Opal was the sexy one this year, in a sheer dress, and Ornate was the funny guy. Two were relatively non-descript, and Three had the crowd in an uproar as Iris, the girl, told a story about her family. Even Arnold was laughing.

And then, it was his turn.

Strolling onto stage confidently, he was greeted by applause, and shook Caesar's hand firmly, being sure to give the cameras a smile.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, Arnold Asters!" Caesar introduced, and Arnold waved to the audience, taking his seat. "Lovely to have you here."

"Lovely to be here," Arnold answered, somewhat tongue in cheek, and Caesar launched straight into the interview.

"So, score of a nine. Not too bad! Though I suppose after Finnick's fantastic win last year, you have big boots to fill."

"You could say that, yeah," he began, "But, you gotta remember, he is younger than me. His boots are hardly bigger."

Flickerman laughed. "Valid point. So, both you and your sister were called up this year. Terrible, really."

"Tell me about it," Arnold said, rubbing his forehead with his hand, "A bit of a shock would be an understatement. I won't lie; I seriously didn't know what to do."

There were some 'Awws' from the crowd, and Arnold knew he was working them.

"All I can do now is make sure one of us goes home to our mother," he stated, and there were more 'Awws' from the audience.

"Tragedy, really, your poor mother. So, tell me about yourself. Any lovely ladies at home? Looking like you do, someone better be after you!" he stated. Arnold laughed, making his interview up as he went along.

"Nope, none at all. Very single."

There were a few whistles from the audience and Arnold laughed, winking out at the audience, which was caught on camera.

"Well, that made the audience happy. Well, we're nearly out of time, so everyone, Arnold Asters, District Four!"

He stood up, waving and smiling, before putting four fingers in the air and pointing at them, before winking once more and heading off stage.

Then, it was Lorna's turn.

Lorna sat down gingerly and smiled softly at Caesar. She wasn't playing anymore, she was really shy.

"Lorna Asters, a shy, little dove. You scored higher than I'd admit to have expected, what did you do?" Caesar was interested and she knew she couldn't say, couldn't reveal her strength, yet, "I have no idea." she bowed her head slightly and looked over at him, the crowd 'aww'ing.

Jeez.

"Well, we will be looking forward to seeing it perhaps, tomorrow. So, Lorna, same question to you, any lovers lining up at your door?"

Her gaze went to Raul for a second, but it was enough to be caught on camera, by the crowd and Caesar. Not to mention Raul himself, who was grinning.

Oh shoot.

"Ehm, n- no. I never really thought about that." She answered after hesitating, "There's no-one back home like that."

"Uh-_huh_. Sure. Tell us Lorna, what would you say to your family if you could now? I'm sure they are anxious to see one of you return."

"I-" she faltered and looked in the camera, "I love you. And I forbid our sister from signing up for the tesserae, and I want nothing more in the world than to come home with Arnold," her voice broke and a few tears fell, which she left to run down her cheeks.

"And I'm sorry, Mom," she lowered her gaze and even Caesar looked sad. The crowd had a few actually crying. Arnold would be happy. But no one but Lorna knew what she was apologizing for. She was apologizing for them losing Arnold, because she knew he wouldn't get home, he wouldn't allow it. Caesar gently squeezed her shoulder and smiled warmly, "I'm sure they'll be happy to hear that. That's all our time, everybody, Lorna Asters, our shy dove!"

And then it was Raul's turn and he tried his hardest to wipe the grin off his face.

"So, Raul Porter, District Seven. You sly dog, I saw your grin earlier, it seems a little dove may have caught your eye," he winked and Raul coughed before finally nodding with a wink, much to everyone in the crowds' surprise.

"Doves are magnificent creatures. Very gentle and sweet. Very beautiful." Lorna blushed heavily and her eyes were wide. Arnold looked surprised, too.

"Well, well, well, that's interesting... And also rather unlucky. Seeing as both of you cannot be together for much longer."

"Yes, but that's just it, isn't it. Nothing can happen; we're going to die anyway, someday or another. Why not live whatever is left in life to the fullest?"

"Wise words, wise words, I agree with you..."

The interview went on and Raul had the crowd won over by his easy-going nature.

Everyone cycled through the rest of the interviews, Arnold quickly getting bored with the repetitive nature of the interviews (minus the detour of the mini-saga that was Raul and Lorna's relationship), and when it eventually came to Maggie's turn, people were slowly beginning to get bored.

She was the friendly one. She was engaging, and laughing along with Flickerman, surprisingly comfortable with the crowd. He found out her last name was Bloomport, and she engaged well with everyone.

But the interviews were quickly over and Arnold quickly had to come to the conclusion that tomorrow people were going to die. Lots of them.


	8. Chapter 8

_**The Night Before**_

While eating food with his sister, mentors and Anna, all congratulated on them on their performance, and Arnold quickly headed upstairs, getting changed into his pyjamas before rushing to his sister's room.

"Look, Lorna," he began, "Whatever happens. I love you. And... Be careful, please. We won't have much time tomorrow," he stated, pulling her close and kissing the top of her head. "Get some sleep. Good night," he stated, turning away from her and heading back to his room

Holding onto Arnold tightly she tried to memorize the moment as it was definitely one of their last. Tears in her eyes she nodded, "I love you, too. No matter what. I love you. Stay safe, as safe as possible." She clung to him but he had to leave.

Arnold lay in bed for an hour, but couldn't get any sleep. So he headed upstairs, to the roof, hoping to find some tranquillity there.

But surprisingly, he found Maggie.

She turned when she heard a sound, relaxing when she figured out it was him.

"Couldn't sleep?" she asked, leaning against the balcony.

"Nope," he stated, joining her. They stayed in silence a while, tranquil on the roof. Maggie broke the silence.

"Arnold...Could we ally? You know, if we make it past the initial bloodbath," she asked, and he smiled.

"Technically it's against the rules to make allies now. But sure," he stated, and she smiled, a weak smile.

"I'm scared," she admitted.

"So am I," he conceded, and they were silent again. Arnold contemplated what could happen tomorrow, and he didn't want to think about the details.

"Maggie?" He asked, finally.

"Yeah?"

"This sucks."

"I don't wanna die."

"Neither do I."

Silence again. Maggie leaned into him, and he was actually grateful for human contact, wrapping an arm around her shoulders. They stayed like that for a while, before Maggie let loose a huge yawn.

"I should go to bed," she stated. He nodded.

"Alright. Good night," he answered as she left. He watched her retreating figure, trying to shake any thoughts of friendship or more from his head.

He eventually went back to his room, and actually allowed himself to cry for the first time since the Reaping. For Lorna, for his imminent mortality, for Maggie. For everyone. But eventually, he fell asleep.

And Lorna just let herself cry. Again. This time it was because she couldn't deny their fate anymore. She just couldn't run away like she could at home.

A knock at her door surprised her, but she let the person in.

It was Raul.

"Raul-?" He didn't let her finish, instead cradling her close and kissing her full on the lips.

"I'll never get another chance to do this. I just wanted to have done it," he was almost apologizing and Lorna just kissed him again.

"I understand, I know." she whispered. Both of them had tears in their eyes.

"I can't kill you."

"I can't kill you."

"This isn't fair." He growled, holding her close, before breathing his next words near her ear, "You're mine. For however long we have. And I'll be yours, for the rest of your life."

With the claim he made he kissed her once more and she nodded,

"And I am for the rest of yours. However short our lives may be."

And then she let him stay for a while, just holding each other until she almost fell asleep. Sealing it with one last kiss he left her to sleep.

And somehow she did.


	9. Chapter 9

_**Day One**_

Arnold was woken up early the next morning by the Avox guy who must have been assigned to him. Arnold showered, dressed, and tried to eat some breakfast. But he couldn't. Finnick gave him a pep talk all the way to the prep team, but he couldn't pay attention.

Lorna wasn't there. But in some ways, he was happy she wasn't, seeing as it would have made life considerably harder for him.

Sulla gave him some lightweight trousers, sturdy shoes and a breathable t-shirt with a fleecy sweater over the top, before ushering him into the elevator. His stomach was bouncing, and Sulla bid him goodbye as the glass tube lowered over him. Arnold was jumping on the spot, trying to fight the nerves. But he couldn't.

He was then being moved upwards. Towards the shaft of light above. And he was very nearly sick.

Blinking his eyes, adjusting to the light, he realised he was in the arena – and all the Tributes were dressed similarly.

A grassy valley, half encircled to the left by a rushing river, with full woods across the river. He spotted a small fjord farther down. Hills to the right. A small thicket. And in front of him, the Cornucopia.

Halfway in he saw a javelin, attached to a backpack, with a few knives hanging from a belt. He needed those.

It was eerily silent, the other tributes planning out their moves. He could see Maggie, to the left of him. They made eye contact, and he slyly gestured to the river. She nodded very slightly. It could have been a twitch, to the less well informed. An axe and a backpack were embedded in the ground not too far in front of her, and Maggie had casually spotted the fjord. It wouldn't take her long to make it to the crossing, but it would be quicker for him to swim.

Then the countdown began.

_Ten._

_Nine._

He spotted Lorna, locking eyes with Raul. Arnold kissed his fingers, and extended them towards Lorna.

_Eight._

_Seven._

Maggie was counting with the voice.

_Six._

_Five._

Lorna's gaze met Arnold's and she kissed her fingers back at him, biting her lip.

"I love you," she formed with her lips. Arnold formed them, too.

Then she looked to the front.

Raul was tense. Scared.

_Four._

_Three._

_Two._

Lorna closed her eyes.

_One._

And she ran.


	10. Chapter 10

_**Day One: Lorna and Raul**_

She heard the first screams and saw a belt with knives about three feet away.

She dove for them and then felt a weight atop her. Trying to pull her off.

She turned and the knife in her hand accidently hit her attacker in the stomach.

It was the girl from One.

And she looked shocked. But she was dying. Lorna was horrified and in her stupor she ran with the belt in hand, the bloody knife in the other. She just ran to the river. She needed to reach the river. And to keep going she concentrated on Raul's face, his words. Arnold. She needed to distract herself. A canon fire. The girl from One. She had killed first. Lorna was the first killer. And on accident, too.

Lorna somehow reached the river and dove in, wishing she could swim faster. It struck her that she only had the knives, nothing else. Shit.

She felt a hand on her shoulder and screamed, her scream piercing through the area.

Then she saw who it was.

"Raul-" her voice was shocked. He had a thin cut on his arm and a bruise above his left eye, but otherwise was okay. He had a bow and arrows and a backpack.

"Lorna," he whispered as the treaded water, "Hurry to the shore, stay close to me." She nodded and they swam to the other side where they pulled each other up.

"You got knives?"

She nodded, "I guess your skill is arrows." He nodded as well.

"I got a sleeping bag and some bread, too." he put on a smile.

"I killed the girl from one on accident." Lorna's face was pale, as if she was going to be sick.

Or faint.

She chose the first option and promptly ran to a bush, emptying her stomach of whatever little she had eaten that morning.

Raul held her wet hair and looked around them anxiously.

No one.

Silence.

"Lo, we need to get going, you alright now?"

She nodded wiping her mouth.

"Let's go."

The two trekked through the bushes and stopped every now and then, cautious.

But they soon saw the boy from twelve. And he saw them, too. He was thin, with shaggy black hair and bright blue eyes. He couldn't have been more than thirteen and he was mumbling nervously to himself. It was obvious that he wasn't all right in the head, "kill myself, escape, no one home, mommy, fingers-" were fragments that the pair could hear.

Raul's face hardened and he stepped in front of Lorna, but didn't advance at the boy.

The tribute looked surprised and soon grateful as he realised what Raul was doing. Giving him a chance to go.

So he did.

"He's not going to forget that. I know kids like him; he won't kill us unless he gets very, very desperate. And even then we can get him when he hesitates."

The way Raul thought made sense to Lorna, but she was still scared.

"Did you see Arnold get out?" she finally asked as they approached what seemed to be a huge hole in a rock in the ground.

"Yeah, I think he was with the girl from Twelve."

Lorna raised an eyebrow and murmured, "_Hypocrite." _Though she was relieved that he seemed okay.

Then she looked at the hole. It was big enough to count as a very odd cave. But it seemed a good hiding spot.

"Maybe we should stick out here. Until tomorrow. Or until we're found." She suggested. He agreed. So he crawled through the opening and stopped suddenly. Lorna wanted to ask what was wrong, but he motioned for silence before whispering, "Lorna...Lorna back out. Get back out!" he hissed as they frantically scrambled out. That was when she heard it.

A low growl.

Oh shit.

Raul grabbed her arm and pulled her along, running sideways to keep the now growing threat in vision.

It was a huge, really, really huge, worm. With ten red eyes and a mouth with three rows of sharp fangs.

"The things the gamekeeper comes up with.." she whispered, her voice a few pitches too high.

And it was hungry.

Lorna's scream tore through its ears, obviously to its chagrin and it focused on her as a target, causing the two to run even faster. The bow was useless while running and the knives too small.

They needed to run faster.

Or not. Raul, having only looked out for Lorna, ran into a tree and stopped, dazed.

Giving the worm a chance. Lorna froze in fear.

Then she heard a strangled cry followed by a feral growl. And a crunch.

The boy from Twelve. He had jumped at the worm's mouth.

The sight was grotesque, but Lorna managed to not throw up.

The head was gone. The chest was in half, ribs poking out, the lungs and heart a mess of blood and ripped flesh. The worm was slowly sucking him in, his teeth acting as a mixer.

Disgusted Raul and Lorna ran. Not stopping for what seemed like ages. As if they could run from the pictures in their minds.

But they couldn't.

It was dark by the time they stopped. And they were exhausted. And hungry. And thirsty. They crouched in a large bush, hidden from sight and ate a bit of bread. Still parched.

No matter, Lorna was still sick again. This time Raul was, too.

Raul opened the sleeping bag and pulled Lorna close as he closed it up. Holding onto each other, they tried to rest.

Only just before falling asleep did Lorna remember the cameras that were probably on them.

She looked Raul in the eye and then up at the 'sky' where the deaths were shown. When the boy from Twelve came and not Arnold she sighed and whispered, "Thank you, District Twelve. I'm sorry." Then she kissed Raul softly and the two fell asleep, eager to escape the nightmare that they were in.


	11. Chapter 11

_**Day One: Arnold and Maggie**_

Arnold sprinted.

He was low to the ground, his muscles tensing as he ran. He ran for the backpack, dodging a knife as he swung it onto his back, grabbing the knife belt before drawing the javelin from his backpack. He still ran, but the guy from Eight was in his way. Arnold knew what he had to do, throwing the javelin straight into the guy's chest. He fell immediately, but Arnold sprinted, pulling the weapon out with ease before diving into the river, glancing Maggie running across the fjord. Too far for him to reach it easily.

A cannon shot. Someone had just died. A cannon shot. The guy was dead. And another cannon shot, someone else was dead, too. Three in the first two minutes.

The cold water rushed over him, and an arrow penetrated the liquid next to him. He struck out, swimming quickly before he could be shot at again.

After what seemed like a millennia, he came up at the other bank, pulling himself up and securing his few possessions before running down the bank towards Maggie, who seemingly had just killed the girl from Eight. Cannon shot.

"Go," he gasped, grabbing her arm and running straight for the forest. They kept going for a good hour, before their lungs and legs starting to protest. Maggie suggested the climb a tree to rest, and he didn't protest.

"What did you get?" She asked, swinging her bag off her back. He did the same.

"Six knives. A javelin," he began, unzipping his bag. "A sleeping bag. Two water bottles. A bag of...Salt?" He said, puzzled. Then he shrugged. "And some kind of jerky. You?"

"A throwing axe, three knives. Water bottle. Some kind of jerky. Flashlight."

"Could be worse," he stated, running a hand through his now-dry hair. "I just killed someone, Maggie, and I -"

She suddenly held up a hand for quiet, and the two crouched in the branches. They watched as some Careers trekked underneath them. Maggie and Arnold locked eyes, and Arnold mouthed 'Shit.'

Ornate, the girl and guy from two and the guy from three. And they'd pulled along the girl from Seven, too.

Arnold pressed a finger to his lips. He knew the cameras would be on them now.

Arnold and Maggie crouched for what seemed like an age, making sure that the Careers were gone before shimmying down.

"We have to move, _now,_" Arnold said, and they moved in the opposite direction to the Tributes, towards the left. The Woods were bigger than they thought, and they kept moving. That was the better idea, to keep moving. Trying to stay away from conflict for the first few days.

The faintest sounds of a scream came from their right, the whispers of a scream. Arnold stopped, and Maggie thudded into his back.

"Uh, Arnold..."

"That was Lorna," he stated, swallowing as a cannon shot went off. Maggie's hand rested on his shoulder.

"I'm sure that wasn't for her. She's with that guy, remember? She'll be fine," Maggie said, calmly, but Arnold was preoccupied with the thought of a dead Lorna on the big screen in the Capitol. Maggie was the one who took his hand, pulling him along. She found a large tree, with thick branches and thicker foliage, prodding him to climb. He did so, numb, and she made sure he settled before climbing up next to him.

"What were you saying earlier? You know, before we saw the Careers?" She asked, trying to keep his mind off the cannon shot. He turned to face her.

"I was saying...I was saying how I killed someone. Someone's son, brother, whatever, and...and I didn't even think twice. I knew I had to do it. If I hadn't, he'd probably have killed me," Arnold stated, fishing the sleeping bag out from his bag, climbing in and offering Maggie half. The temperature was dropping rapidly.

"I did, too, Arnold. And I know what you mean. It's the arena, though. It's not you. It's what this does to you," she stated, her body warmth helping to warm up the sleeping bag. The Capitol's tune played, and Arnold's gaze dashed to the sky. The girl from One, Opal, was dead. The boy from Six. The girl and guy from Eight were both dead. And then, the boy from Twelve.

Maggie's inhaled sharply, and Arnold breathed a sigh of relief. Lorna was still alive.

"I'm sorry, Maggie," he stated. Maggie shook her head.

"Poor Ted. I didn't know him well. But my younger brother did," she stated, shaking her head. Arnold offered her some food, and she accepted it gratefully.

"Nineteen left," Arnold replied. Both of the siblings had survived the first day. That was promising.

Maggie merely nodded, her eyes drooping. Arnold stifled a yawn.

"Sleep. I'll take first watch," Arnold stated, and Maggie regarded him curiously, before sleeping. Within seconds, she was breathing deeply. And she'd pressed close to him. But he made no move to move her, because right then that was the only comforting thing in that entire arena.


	12. Chapter 12

_**Day Two: Lorna and Raul**_

Lorna awoke in Raul's arms and felt his hands decidedly lower than last night. But she didn't mind. "Raul..." she murmured softly to wake him up, but the way his eyes opened she noticed he had been awake.

"I was trying to forget where we were."

"I know."

"We need to find water. The river is our best bet. But it's too far...I think." she added before perking up at his reassuring smile, though it was forced, "We'll find something."

Lorna bit her lip before looking up, "I wonder if it's too early to see if we have sponsors..." There was no reaction, no parachute. Nothing.

The girl sighed. Well. She didn't know what to do then. This whole situation felt completely unreal, and more than a little hopeless.

"I'm scared." The confession was soft, but honest.

Raul pulled her close and kissed her.

"I know," he kissed her again; "I don't want to do anything you don't want me to. But I treasure each and every kiss I can get. Each- each one could be our last." He closed his eyes only to open them in surprise when Lorna cupped his face and kissed him passionately.

"We shouldn't," she muttered between kisses, "The world is watching," she whispered.

"I don't care..." he kissed her deeply, pulling her closer.

They were interrupted by a gasp and pulled apart; Lorna had a knife at hand in an instant.

It was a Career. The boy from Three. His name was Trus. And his skill was his size.

He made Arnold look like a midget.

Hell. He made Raul look like a midget.

And Lorna was just tiny anyway.

"How cute. I know what you're doing Asters. I knew your innocence was just an act," he laughed, "Your weapon isn't knives. It's your body. Come on girlie, _hurt me_," he laughed even more, now approaching them. Raul was furious and without warning he lunged at Trus, tackling him to the ground.

Trus wasted no time in choking Raul, only stopped by Lorna, who jumped onto his back and in one swift move slit his throat.

"My weapon is my heart," she hissed in his ear, fire in her eyes, appearing suddenly in her was the Lorna who did anything to protect those she loved, even if it killed her. Honestly, it was a bit scary.

This was not Lorna the innocent one. This was Lorna the desperate.

Raul pushed the bleeding boy off of him and a cannon fire rang out.

Lorna was shaking now, the desperation disappearing, her resolve abandoning her. Crying was her body's' natural reaction.

She had Trus' blood on her hands.

She couldn't even speak anymore, she just whimpered.

Raul held her quivering body and spoke soothingly as he carried her out of the area, stopping at a small stream where he washed her hands.

A parachute floated down and suddenly Lorna understood. She had to kill for her sponsors. They wanted to see an innocent girl killing.

Raul opened it for her.

It was bread from her district, to make up for what they had lost, and a thermos of a strange, warm drink that energized the two. Strengthened them.

There was one more item. A small metal fish. It had joints to move just like a real fish. She had no idea what it was for. It was only at big as her thumb. And in one of the fins there was a blue light that blinked slowly.

She thought of Mags. Poor Mags. Poor Finnick.

They'd have to choose a favourite.

She missed Arnold. And she was glad to not have seen him in the sky.

"We need to find Arnold." she managed to say after a few more minutes.

"You're okay now? Maybe we should rest." Raul looked wary of her mental state.

Shit, she was wary of her mental state, too.

"We need to find Arnold."

Her eyes lit up as the fish blinked slightly faster at Arnold's name.

"How?"

"With this." she held up the tracker that looked like a fish. "It must react to his tracker chip."

A cannon shot scared Lorna into tripping and grabbing onto Raul, who kept her from falling. "It's not him, Lo." he reassured her. She checked the fish tracker that was flashing away steadily. She sighed.

"I know. Still."

"I know." They continued walking holding hands. "If we _had_ met outside the games..." he started, but trailed off.

"Yes?" she asked.

"I would have courted you, or whatever you do in Four. I would have done it." He looked straight ahead.

Lo smiled, her first real one in the arena.

"Well, I would have accepted you."

He smiled, holding her hand tighter.

"I wish we could both get out," he paused before softly adding, "Don't forget me."

She stopped walking.

"What?"

"I don't want to win, Lo, I never thought I would. Alone the Careers would have gotten me. You just made my life a little bit sweeter, but not longer. I want to be with you. But I can't. So I'll die knowing I did my best with you. A death sentence sort of pushes things along. I said that in the interview."

Lo blinked back her new tears and pulled him close, her cheeks red.

"You can have me..." His eyes widened, because this kiss was different. It was hungry and...apologetic.

The kept on kissing, because if they died, that was how they wanted to die. Loving each other.

The sleeping bag covered them completely, shielding them from cameras.

From the Arena. From Reality.

But that had to end, too.


	13. Chapter 13

_**Day Two: Arnold and Maggie**_

Arnold was woken up by the cannon shot. He realised with fear that he'd fallen asleep on watch, and him and Maggie were nestled up close. She, too, had been woken by the cannon shot, and the two cleared their throats, getting out of the sleeping bag and pretending that hadn't happened.

"Eighteen," she stated, rolling up the sleeping bag and helping Arnold repack the bags. The two carefully climbed down the tree, and Maggie led the way this time. After about an hour in silence, the two stopped, having found a clearing. The boy from Nine was picking berries from a bush, and Maggie held an arm out to stop Arnold, who'd drawn a knife from the belt.

"Let him test the berries," she whispered, almost inaudible, and they crouched behind some bushes.

He hesitantly picked a blue berry, tasting it slowly. Shrugging, he ate another, but they knew something was wrong. His body tensed, and he collapsed to the floor, sweat soaking his clothes. He began to vomit, and an ungodly sound and smell ripped through the air. Maggie wrinkled her nose, and so did Arnold. It seemed the berries made him expel everything...From both ends.

They watched him for ten minutes. He was convulsing on the ground now, and Arnold couldn't watch any more.

"He's dying," he stated, stepping towards the boy. He looked up at Arnold, his face taught with pain.

"Help me," he begged, and Arnold shook his head.

"I'm sorry," he said, before killing the boy swiftly, and cleaning the knife on the grass. A cannon shot cut through the air and Maggie joined him.

"Seventeen," she murmured, and the two made their way away from the body. "Berries as a last resort."

It was too quiet, and Arnold decided to begin light conversation. He couldn't take the silence any more.

"So, Maggie. What's it like in Twelve?"

"Boring, and life revolves around coal. What's it like in Four?"

"Boring, and life revolves around fish."

"So I've heard. What's your family like?"

"Lorna's here. My mother is probably freaking out right now, but Jaina's pretty young, so she'll be alright. My dad died," he stated, shrugging as Maggie made the face that stated 'I asked the wrong question'.

"It's fine, really. Don't worry about it. You?"

"Younger brother, older sister. Dad's a miner. Mom's a mother," she stated. He nodded, and the two talked about their lives; school, people, everything. The day seemed too short, but they hadn't encountered anyone else, thank God. But it took them a while to find somewhere to sleep.

"Just calm down, alright, Annalee!"

That came from not too far ahead of them, but he knew that voice.

"Ornate," he breathed, and they exchanged panicked looks. They couldn't fight the Careers now. There were too many. Arnold's eyes darted for cover, and he dove for a thick shrub, pulling Maggie with him. The two were pressed close, and the bush scratched them, but they hardly dared to breathe as they heard the footsteps pass near to them. Thankfully, in the dim light, none saw them. Annalee, the girl from Seven, was still not calm at all as the guy from three was losing a lot of blood.

"Ornate, we need to stop. Seriously, Dorian is losing a lot of blood. If you'd just let me help him -"

"Shut up, alright, Annalee? That wouldn't have happened if you hadn't been boasting about how no one had found us! The guy from five is freaking good with an axe, okay? We only just made it out of there alive because he thought Dorian was dead. Five is still out there somewhere, and if you're going to keep shouting about it!"

Ornate and Annalee were now in a heated fight, and Annalee stomped her foot.

"I'm sorry, Ornate, who died and made you king? Dorian needs help now, and whether you like it or not, we're stopping and I'm helping him!"

Arnold knew the cameras were on them now, as well as the Careers. They were only a few metres away...Maggie's head was on his chest, and her eyes met his. Fearful. They knew where this argument would lead – Annalee's death.

Annalee had turned her back on an angry Ornate, kneeling and unzipping her bag. She'd picked up a first aid kit, and Ornate was still ranting at her.

"We're in the middle of a fucking path, Annalee!"

"If you don't like it, Ornate, you can fuck off," she stated, cleaning Dorian's wound and bandaging it. It was the best she could do, but it prevented the risk of infection.

She stood again, turning to leave, Dorian and the girl following her. Ornate stood, contemplating, before pulling a knife from his belt. Arnold wanted to scream to the others to watch out, but he knew that would end in him dead, too.

Ornate then aimed. And let the knife fly.

It embedded itself in Dorian's back, and without a cry, he fell face first into the loam. Annalee turned her mouth open in shock.

"Ornate –" she began, and he shook his head.

"He was too much of a burden. He was going to die anyway. We need team players, Annalee," he stated, striding straight past her and leaving the knife in Dorian's back. Annalee looked like she wanted to argue some more. But she then realised that would result in her death.

She needed to bide her time.

Once the figures of the Careers had faded into the woods, and a cannon shot resounded, Arnold and Maggie dared to breathe again, disentangling themselves from the bush and grabbing Dorian's backpack, before moving out of the way.

They went through his bag, and found nothing. Ornate must have gone through it before. He'd planned to kill Dorian even before Five had attacked him.

"The Careers are turning on each other quicker this year," Maggie breathed, and Arnold nodded.

"Let's stay as far away from them as possible."

"Agreed."

Arnold and Maggie had a relatively sleepless night, but for different reasons to Raul and Lorna.

As soon as it got dark, the Capitol's tune played and the faces of the dead flashed up. Dorian. The guy from three. The guy from nine.

Arnold exhaled. So his sister was still alive.

The two then trudged onwards, trying to find somewhere to sleep, and fast, as the night got colder and darker. And for some reason, after nightfall, both became silent as though it were taboo to talk. To their dismay, after an hour, they could find nowhere suitable at all – unless they wanted to be sitting ducks.

They stopped for a moment, sharing out some food and eating in silence. Maggie shivered, and Arnold moved closer to her, and the two leaned into each other for warmth before quickly standing and moving again. They knew the careers were too close for comfort. But the woods were beginning to do them little good, as the found no water and only poisonous berries.

"Maybe we should move towards the hills tomorrow," Maggie murmured as a suggestion, and Arnold nodded.

"Couldn't hurt to try."

Still, Arnold found it somewhat odd that the Careers were so far from the Cornucopia – unless they'd banded together with a few more. This was a truly terrifying prospect, which Arnold was too weary to voice at this point in the night.

"Let's find somewhere to sleep, so we don't freeze," he suggested, and the two continued moving onwards and making their way through more clearings. Arnold shook his head, before glimpsing a hollow in a tree.

He moved towards it, pushing the bushes away from the opening. It was too dark to see inside, and Arnold risked using the flashlight in his bag to shine into the hollow. No animals, or muttations – just relative safety for the night.

He crawled in, followed by Maggie, and the two quickly slid into the sleeping bag, teeth chattering and bodies shivering. This time, neither objected to using the other as a form of heater, and they wrapped their arms around each other, the shivering subsiding marginally. For a split second, those curious thoughts about Maggie graced Arnold's mind, but he shook himself mentally. No. That would be a terrible idea. Because if he even remotely gave into the beginnings of a small crush, he'd be setting himself up for failure.

They fell asleep without any talk, for fear of chattering teeth biting their tongues off. They rose early the next morning, now rationing the little food they had. It was then they decided their best bet was to head north, and they then stumbled into the clearing that held Lorna and Raul.


	14. Chapter 14

_**Day Three: Lorna, Raul, Arnold and Maggie**_

The next morning they awkwardly pulled on their clothes under the make-shift blanket. Not caring that everything was televised. They were together. For as long as they could be.

The fish blinked faster.

Arnold was approaching.

Funny when he'd see them. With Lorna wearing Raul's necklace.

And with Raul wearing Lorna's necklace.

At first, Arnold's and Maggie's first instinct was to fight. Maggie quickly had her axe in hand, and Arnold grabbed a knife, fast.

But recognising who it was, he let out a sigh of relief and crossed the clearing, taking Lorna into a hug.

"You're still alive," he breathed.

"Arnold..." Lorna whispered holding him tightly, trying desperately to hide the fact that her and Raul looked very 'dishevelled' in the way you did when you DID.

"Twelve, right?" Raul asked, coming up, but keeping a safe distance to Maggie, with her axe.

"Twelve," Maggie nodded, letting her grip become slacker on the axe.

He held his bow and arrow looser, putting them away.

When Lorna finally let Arnold go she automatically moved into Raul's arms, who smiled and rubbed her arms gently.

"So...Ehm- Yeah" She was flustered. Arnold did not look amused. It was clear that an... important... part of Lo's innocence was gone.

"Are the Careers close by?" Raul asked, trying to save the awkward situation and looking like he thought Arnold might just kill him then and there.

Arnold raised an eyebrow at Raul, still dubious as to Raul's intentions with Lorna.

"Arnold...It's okay...we know we won't both make it out, if any of us do. We just wanted to die having loved each other..." Lorna realised how corny that sounded, but there were no words for it and that statement would perhaps get sponsors.

Arnold ran a hand down his face, trying to hide the fact that he was vaguely disturbed that his sister's sexual exploits had more than likely been shown to every household in Panem.

"Right. Okay. Just...Don't tell me anymore, please," he said, grimacing. Then he shrugged.

"I'm not sure exactly where they are, though Maggie and I saw them yesterday. They've got Ornate leading them, I guess, but he and Annalee are at loggerheads. It's not going to end well," Arnold began. "I mean, if Maggie and I hadn't hidden in a bush, we'd be very dead right now."

"Speaking of which, we should probably keep moving," Maggie murmured. "I just keep getting this feeling someone is nearby. I don't like it one bit – these woods are not as good for coverage as they are most years."

Turning bright red Lorna shook her head "Oh don't worry, you will know nothing of it." Raul kissed her cheek and then stopped.

"Wait, don't move." Everyone froze and there was a buzzing sound.

Lorna looked confused, never having heard that sound before, but Raul had heard it every day - he came from the lumber district.

Saws. Very, very, very big saws.

"RUN!" He grabbed Lorna's hand and motioned for Arnold and Maggie to follow him as they sprinted, not knowing why.

Then they saw them. Just a metallic flash out of the corner of their eyes, farther away. Then the first trees fell. With a crack and a crash, threatening to squash the tributes flat.

Pulling Lorna closer to him as he ran Raul dodged the trees and managed to pull Lorna out of the way.

"THE RIVER. GET IN THE RIVER," he ordered, seeing the rushing water ahead. But Lorna, for once, was ahead of him, the prospect of water driving her faster.

But being from the fishing district, she knew water. And this was not water.

"NO. WAIT, IT'S NOT SAFE!" She cried out, but Raul had already jumped.

Arnold held Lorna back just in time, who was sobbing and screaming out in pain as she watched who had promised to be the love of her probably short life die very, very slowly.

The water was a sort of acid. It was eating away at him slowly.

With a strangled cry Lorna tore a spear from Arnold and thrust it into the water. Raul caught hold of it and she pulled him out.

His legs were gone. No open wounds, the burning acid had sealed them. Mid-thigh and then nothing. No bone. Nothing. His arms had severe burns. He was shivering and shaking. His face untouched, his shoulders, chest and abs, also as if singed.

"No...no...no...no...Don't...you have to stay with me...you can't leave..." She cried. He lifted his injured hand and caressed her cheek softly.

"I'm here..." he whispered.

She choked on a sob and turned to Maggie and Arnold. "I'm staying here. You can't make me change my mind. I'm staying with him. And if it kills me. You can stay with me or move on. I'd rather you stay at least the night, Arnold, please..." she looked at him pleadingly and then stammered, "You- You remember Choo?" She turned her gaze sadder. Choo had been her pet cat. Choo had been very old and very sick. And one day, as it has to happen, Choo was dying. And instead of letting Arnold dispose of the pet, Lorna had pleaded one more night with her and Arnold had granted her request. By morning Choo had died in her arms.

With this reference she wanted to say that she knew he'd die, but needed one night to say goodbye.

Arnold understood.

"One night then."

Lorna nodded, sobbing again and when the two had left them alone to scout the area she looked up at the sky.


	15. Chapter 15

_**Day Three: Lorna and Raul**_

"WHERE ARE OUR SPONSERS NOW? WHAT NOW CAPITOL? BREAD FOR A KISS, BUT NOTHING TO SAVE A LIFE!" She screamed, throwing a rock into the acid river.

"Lo..."

She turned, frustration riddling her gaze, which softened slightly at his voice. "I'm here...I'm here, I'm not leaving...I love you... I love you..."

"I love you, too. When you get out, tell my district what you mean to me...tell them you're mine..."

"We...We will tell them..."

He gave her a weak smile, knowing what she was doing. Pretending they'd both get out. Pretending they could have a life together. This had been impossible from the moment their names had been reaped. Since they'd been born actually, fate never intended them to spend their lives together.

"When we get out..." he coughed, "I'd ask you a question..."

"Yes...?"

"I'd ask if you'd deign to marry a lumber boy?" He laughed his bark-like laugh.

"I'd say I would..." she kissed him gently and he returned it.

"Then we'd have little kids with your blue eyes and my dark hair...pretty cute kids...we'll never have to work again..." he murmured, slowly slipping into a shock-induced sleep. She kissed his forehead and shivered.

Night came sooner than she wanted. And he was awake for it.

They didn't speak much. Murmured 'I love you's and kisses. But they mostly just stared at each other, trying to say what they wanted to without words.

"I wish I could spend the rest of my life with you..."

"Guess I'm lucky then, I get to spend the rest of mine with you..."

"I don't want to kill _anyone_..." she whispered, crying.

"I know." His voice was shaky, but surprisingly strong. He knew what was coming. He knew what _anyone_ meant.

"I love you-"her voice broke as she slipped a knife out of her belt, her entire arm shaking. He gingerly grasped her arm with one hand to steady it, a soft understand spreading across his features.

"I love you, too, Lorna Porter." He smiled slightly, comfortingly stroking her cheek before pulling her in for a sweet kiss.

When their lips met she drove her knife straight to his heart. And he died. A cannon fired.

She knew the capitol wanted the body, but she refused to let go yet. She sat on the grass rocking back and forth, clutching at his body and sobbing, sometimes screaming, sometimes whimpering.

"I'm so sorry...I love you...I had to...I love you...I'm sorry..." she whispered in a crazed frenzy.

When morning came she wrapped the sleeping bag around his body and kissed his forehead.

"I love you, Raul Porter."

_I love you, Lorna Porter_. His last words ghosted in her ears and she threw the knife with which she had done it into the river before looking up.

"I LOVE RAUL PORTER, OF DISTRICT SEVEN."

She announced to Panem's households, wanting them to see what the Games did. Knowing it would be cut out, wiping her tears and walking to Maggie and Arnold's camp.

"It's done. We should leave," she didn't say anything else. Even thought it was Raul who had gone, Lorna looked dead.


	16. Chapter 16

_**Day Three: Arnold and Maggie**_

It was only as they were stumbling for their lives that the adrenaline set in and Arnold was running fast, his legs setting him off, faster than Lorna, even.

He heard a scream and saw Maggie fall, as a tree fell a few metres behind her. In a split second, he turned on his heel, running towards her and quickly pulling her upright, dragging her behind him as he ran.

However, that small detour had cost him the lead he'd had on Lorna, and he bared witness to the horrific fate of Raul. He allowed Lorna the right to mourn a man who was still alive, and he and Maggie left the vicinity. Though he wanted to stay near Lorna, he and Maggie came to a silent understanding.

He couldn't wait for Lorna. Because the three of them, together...Two of them had had a close call yesterday. They couldn't risk it again. With Lorna. She would be safer, away from the two of them, who'd had enough close calls to write a book.

So they moved on, a few miles away from Lorna, before taking a break. They were both hungry, but they decided to skip out on food, again, and merely rested. They still had a tiny bit of water left, but not enough. They'd have to find some soon.

So they continued on, before finding a tree to perch up again for the evening.

Arnold pulled out his javelin, the one and only decent weapon he had. And Lorna had ruined it in her haste to save someone who would die anyway. The acid had eaten away at it, and he sighed, snapping it in two and throwing the pieces farther into the woods, in different directions. All he had left were knives. And he was mediocre with them.

"Shit," he stated, and Maggie assessed the situation.

"Ask the sponsors."

"Do you think we have them?"

"You can always try."

"Please?" He asked the sky. Nothing.

"What are we doing wrong? What do they want? The audience super liked you. You've _got _to have sponsors."

"Maybe they want violence."

"You gave them violence. So did I."

"Then what?"

Maggie hesitated, biting her lip.

"Maybe – no. No, never mind. I'll take first watch."

Arnold shrugged, not pushing the boundaries any further. "Alright. Wake me up in a few hours."


	17. Chapter 17

_**Day Four: Lorna**_

Lorna was met with silence. She was alone.

"ARNOLD!" She cried out for him, but there was no answer. She was completely and utterly abandoned.

And lost. And had no food, no drink, no direction. She only had that fucking tracker fish, but Arnold had left her.

Lorna wandered aimlessly until she stumbled over a rock and fell, for a second she flashbacked to when Raul caught her and kept her from falling.

This just brought about a fresh load of tears.

A silver parachute floated down. She opened it and found a small canister of soup, it was still hot. She drank a little and saved the rest for later. It helped her get up again. She was startled by a row of cannon shots. Three shots. And a rustling near her. Grabbing a knife, she braced herself, only staying alive for Raul now.

It was the girl from Nine and the girl from Six. They didn't even have time to react before two knives were digging into their chest.

Pulling them out without so much as flinching, Lorna kept walking. It was like moving in a trance, because if she let herself feel now she'd die.

When she fell asleep that night she saw both of those girls, amongst both fives.

Nine people. Nine people were left.

Lorna didn't go to sleep, she was afraid to. So she kept walking, ignoring the tracker fish in her pocket. She just held onto the wooden charm on Raul's necklace around her neck. It smelled like him. Musky. Warm.

Lorna didn't know what she was doing. Or where she was going. She was exhausted and numb and completely vulnerable.

She was losing her mind. Too many things that she couldn't unsee, unfeel. It was too much.

At some point she was so far gone she didn't even notice that she'd walked back to the river. His body was gone. All she had left was his necklace. And her biggest fear was that it would lose his scent.

She found a hollow tree and curled up inside, something inside her making her drink the rest of the soup.

At night the tears came again, she lost her safe numbness and surrendered to the mind-busting grief. Though if she didn't get out of the arena or die soon, there would be no more mind to bust.


	18. Chapter 18

_**Day Four: Arnold and Maggie**_

Those multiple cannon shots woke Maggie up, and made Arnold jump. The two kept moving. Those loud signs of death seemed to only reinstate the imminent danger they were in. And Arnold knew, as the numbers whittled down, he really, really did not want to kill Maggie, either.

The fact the numbers had whittled thin meant there was less chance of run ins, however. The two continued in what they assumed was the direction of the actual river. Though they didn't find the river, they managed to find a fresh water pond, shrouded by shrubs. They both sighed in relief, checking the water and then filling their bottles. They then both agreed to wash, Maggie going first and Arnold turning away.

When she gave him the all clear, her hair was dripping wet and she swapped places with him. He shrugged the fleece off before peeling his shirt off, rinsing it in the water before wading in and washing himself – he refused to be naked for cameras, but he figured if he hid underwater it was okay, because he hardly wanted to walk around all day with wet undergarments.

As he washed his body, which was grimy and dirty, he heard a gasp come from Maggie. He thought she might be in trouble, and so grabbed his trousers and pulled them on quickly – before she called to him.

"Arnold, are you decent?"

"Yeah, what's wrong?"

She came crashing through the bushes, waving a javelin in the air.

"What the hell did you do?"

He paused for a moment, and then sighed.

"Seriously?" He asked. As if to reinstate Maggie's point, some food drifted down in front of them. He sat on the ground, laughing in disbelief.

"My sponsors will sponsor me as long as they can see me almost naked every now and then?" He asked, and Maggie stifled laughter, handing him the javelin as he pulled his shirt back on. "I feel dirty."

"But we have food," Maggie said, winking and handing him some. "Jeez, if we'd figured this out before you could have just run around the forest in that...Whatever it was they put you in for the parade."

Arnold glared. "Totally, and we could cover you in coal dust and very little else."

Maggie blushed, but laughed. "Totally, we could have been unbeatable."

Arnold laughed through his food. "Sure, we'll see how that works. Hey, where's your axe?"

Maggie dropped her gaze.

"Lost it when we were running, yesterday."

Arnold threw her his knife belt.

"Do you more good than me," he stated, helping her up as they continued on their way. They must have slept in more than they thought, and they found somewhere to sleep for the night. It was surprisingly isolated, and they huddled into the sleeping bag. The tune came and went, and the dead flashed up. The girl from Six was dead. Raul was dead, and Arnold wondered how Lorna was holding up. The girl from Nine was dead. The girl from Ten was dead. Both Tributes from Eleven were dead. Maggie exhaled sharply. Arnold wasn't paying too much attention – he was thinking, though.

"You need an axe," he whispered into her ear. She gave him a confused look. "Just...trust me. Punch me if I freak you out."

"Sucks about your axe," he stated, louder this time. She shrugged, thankfully playing along.

"Yeah, but what can I do?"

"Good point. Look, Maggie...I...There's nine of us left. And I...God, I..."

He was psyching himself up for this, because he knew he'd cross that mental line he'd put in place. He leaned in, kissing her softly. Her eyes widened, then she realised what he was doing. She wrapped her arms around his neck, kissing him deeply. He ran his hand up her body, exposing her midriff, and still no axe. She pulled away, giving him a meaningful look as she pulled his fleece off, before hesitating.

"I don't know...It...We're crossing a line..."

"Do you care?"

Her lips met his again, and she tugged his shirt over his head. Those rich females enjoyed his bare body more than they should have. But still no axe.

Maggie took a deep breath, and Arnold removed her fleece, too, and she pulled her shirt over her head.

And an axe crashed next to them.

They both sighed in relief, before locking eyes with each other. There were a few heartbeats when they were weighing the pros and cons.

"We're going to die anyway," Maggie whispered, and the two began kissing again, this time more ferociously. And Arnold was a hypocrite, because his sexual activity had been shown to all of Panem too.


	19. Chapter 19

_**19: Day Five: Arnold and Maggie**_

It was the next morning, as he woke to Maggie's sleeping face, surprisingly peaceful. He trailed his fingers up and down her shoulder, realising how easy it would be for someone to attack them now. Or for one of them to kill each other.

He pushed that thought away. Perhaps he wasn't in love with her. Not the kind of show his sister had played. But last night had been interesting, and he liked Maggie. More than just a friend.

He sighed, running a hand down his face. He shouldn't even bother figuring it out. Their days were numbered, anyway.

Arnold and Maggie finally decided to move, dressing and eating some of the food. People had sent them more food, and they rolled their eyes. Some people were just perverts.

But they figured they needed to be nice about it.

"Thanks," they said towards where they supposed the cameras would be. The two were quiet for a while, trying to figure out how to act in this situation, before Maggie broke the silence.

"How do you think your sister is holding up?" she asked, and Arnold chewed his lip. He eventually shrugged.

"I don't know. I'd say alright – but I don't know. She'd never had a boyfriend or whatever he was before. Shit, Maggie, I should have stayed with her. We should have stayed with her," he said, kicking a nearby tree.

"I fucked that up. I was trying to protect her in the beginning, and it's just evolved to running away from everything!" He exclaimed, and Maggie rested a hand on his arm.

"Calm down, Arnold," she began, and he turned to meet her gaze. "You did the best you could. No one knows what they would do in a fucked situation like yours," she stated, and he shook his head again. Silence.

"We should keep moving," he finally said. "The more people we kill today, the safer she is."

He wondered how Maggie felt, knowing that her ally would try and make his sister win, no matter what.

And Arnold realised that probably part of the reason both siblings had made it so far was because the Gamemakers were probably pulling the strings, so the final showdown would be heartbreaking.

Maggie seemed to know this too. But neither said anything.

They could hear running water now. The river.

This actually seemed familiar, like the way they'd come on the first day. But Maggie stopped, holding a hand up to stop Arnold.

And then a body crashed into her.

She screamed, reaching for her axe. But it was out of reach, having been torn from her side expertly by her attacker. Her knives were on a belt, but he had pinned her arms.

This was the guy from Ten. His eyes feral with hunger.

Arnold moved quickly, as Maggie punched, kicked and bit her attacker. He was struggling to remove the knife from his belt, his hands trembling with hunger. And Arnold pulled the javelin from his backpack, taking a few short bounds towards the guy, kicking him swiftly in the head. There was a _crack, _and the guy groaned, rolling off Maggie who scrambled for her axe. But Arnold was ahead of her, pure, cold anger coursing through his face and veins.

Swiftly, he thrust the javelin down into Ten's throat, and Ten gurgled blood. Arnold turned, knowing the guy was dying. He pushed Maggie away, and they moved closer to the river. Once they were sheltered under a tree, he turned Maggie around, examining her.

"Are you okay?" He asked, and she nodded, trying not to laugh at his 'doctor' act.

"I'm fine. Just shaken. Thanks, by the way," she stated, keeping a firm grip on the axe.

"There's going to be more of that," Arnold began, as a cannon shot resounded, "There's nine of us left now. They're going to push us together."

Maggie shrugged.

"Or they might try and draw the games out longer."


	20. Chapter 20

_**Day Five: Lorna**_

Lorna awoke the next evening. She had slept the whole day. She had missed the announcing of the dead. Now she could only wait and hope her brother wasn't amongst them.

She was still not all there, but the thought of her brother was sort of like an anchor, keeping her from drifting completely.

She started walking again, needing to do something to keep her in a semi-mindless state.

After what seemed like hours she tripped and fell into a bush, shaking her head she looked up, only to see the face she'd been looking for...

"Raul?" she whispered, only when she'd stood did she remember that her Raul was dead. But this Raul felt so real...

Felt?

It had its arms around her. A tight embrace...too tight...

"N-No...ARNOLD...RAUL...ARNOLD!" her screams pierced the night as the Mutt, that was obviously a sort of shapeshifter, squeezed her slowly. Drawing it out. Aiming to hurt her as much as possible before killing her.


	21. Chapter 21

_**Day Five: Lorna, Arnold and Maggie**_

Thankfully, Arnold's camp was just a few meters away, behind the trees.

"ARNOLD!"

Arnold and Maggie both stopped and looked at the sky. Just the guy from Ten today. They debated whether or not to cross the river tonight – either way, they were sitting ducks.

Both Maggie and Arnold heard the cries, just as they were about to cross the river.

Both exchanged one look, before turning and flying towards the scream. Maggie was ahead of Arnold, breaking through the foliage with her axe in hand.

She was killing the Mutt as Arnold pulled Lorna away, and he could already tell she was dishevelled. Maggie kicked the dead Mutt to the ground, and it shrivelled to nothing.

"Move, Arnold," she murmured, helping him drag Lorna away.

Lorna clung to Arnold's arm, whimpering and crying hysterically, sometimes screaming weakly.

"Shh," Maggie tried to soothe, and Arnold was becoming more desperate.

"Lorna, be quiet," he kept repeating. But it wasn't helping, and they rested her against a tree. Arnold ran a hand through his hair in desperation. He honestly didn't know what to do, and if Ornate stumbled upon them now...That would sign a death warrant.

Lorna buried her face in her hands, shaking.

"I killed him...I had to kill him...he asked me to _marry_ him... and I _killed_ him..._I killed him_..." the words she hadn't spoken aloud bubbled from her lips in desperation. She wrapped her arms around herself and whispered, "I don't want to die...but I don't want to live either..."

Maggie looked at her with eyes full of pity, before turning to an anguished Arnold. She moved him back a few steps, before he wrapped his arms around Maggie in a hug that meant he needed someone. Anyone, right now.

"That's my fault, Maggie. I should have stayed," he murmured, and she shook her head.

"Don't blame yourself, Arnold. It's this arena," she whispered, and he let go of the girl.

"Still," he stated, moving closer to his sister and crouching to her level.

"Lorna?" He asked, aware he had adapted a voice you may use when talking to a small child. "Lorna, listen. I'm so sorry," he stated, and Maggie sat down not far from the two.

Lorna looked up at him, her eyes hazy. "Arnold..." she whimpered.

"I don't know what to do. I don't know where I am." her voice was small and it was clear that, while she had some grasp of reality, she would never be the same. Not insane. But not sane, either. She'd always been a bit unstable, a little too emotional, and too easy to scare. But this had shoved her over that little line.

"Why are you sorry? I killed him..." she cried, tightening her arms around herself.

Arnold's heart dropped. He knew, from the moment her name was called, she could never make it through this arena as sane as he could have. And here was his proof.

He was silent for too long. But Maggie helped him, and he was incredibly grateful for her.

"You're in the Hunger Games arena," Maggie began. "I'm Maggie, your brother's...ally. And there are nine of us left here. There's a guy from One, named Ornate, and a girl from Two. A girl from Three. Yourself and your brother. Both tributes from Five, the female tribute from Seven and me. Your brother and I are trying to help you win."

At that, Arnold started. He didn't think Maggie, no matter how good of allies they were, would help him in his cause. Maggie flashed him a weak smile.

Lorna blinked. "I want to go home..." she bit her lip and tried to stop crying.

"But...if I win...you die?" she pulled Arnold towards her and held Maggie's hand.

Arnold nodded, his resolution setting in. If he was honest, he wasn't sure how his sister could win, unless he killed everyone else, and then himself. She just didn't seem capable – but he knew Seneca Crane wouldn't let people just kill themselves. It wasn't fun to watch.

They wanted more blood.

"Yeah, Lorna," Arnold replied. "Yeah."

Lorna closed her eyes, "I can't" She simply replied and with that she let them get her to sleep a little.

When she awoke she might be better aware of where she was. What she had to do.

She didn't listen to anything else; she just closed her eyes and curled into a ball. Soon fast asleep.

Her brain needed to work its way through the craze.

She woke up before the 'sun' had risen. She was jittery, but more conscious. The day before had probably been too heavily fresh on her unstable mind and running into 'Raul' had damn near pushed her over the edge. Be that as it may, she was still not quite there. Hanging on though. Barely.

She could think a bit more though. So she thought, as she waited for Maggie and Arnold to get up. She thought about a lot of things. She wondered if she'd ever swim again. If she'd ever hold her sister's hand. If her mother liked Raul. What her father would think of her now. If he'd find something to hold on to in the darkness of the situation.

She thought about how Arnold was a hero.

For giving up everything.

To save her.

And she loved him. So much.

That last thought gave her that push she needed.

To push through the pain, just until it was over.

But while Arnold was alive she wanted to make him proud.

She clung desperately to that lifeline thought.

As long as she had Arnold, she'd be okay.


	22. Chapter 22

_**Day Six: Lorna, Arnold and Maggie**_

Arnold and Maggie woke at the same time the next morning, still close together. Arnold realised his sister was awake, and the two quickly packed away the sleeping bag and shared the food with Lorna. They realised with dismay they were running out of food, and they'd seen no animals to hunt, and no fish in the river. The berries were poisonous, but there were plenty around.

This arena was starting to mess with them.

After eating, the proceeded to cross the river at the fjord, the water clear and smooth flowing. They tested it, just in case, but it was still water. They filled all their bottles, before helping a scared Lorna cross and then following.

The cornucopia glinted ahead of them, picked clean, and they realised that the Careers probably had a camp somewhere in the hills. There were a few wooded thickets studding the hills, and they headed cautiously towards cover.

Lorna just kept her eyes closed when they crossed the river, Arnold basically carrying her.

The thicket seemed quiet enough, so Lorna walked slowly. Out of the corner of her eye she saw something move and grabbed a knife shakily, ignoring Arnold and approaching it. Then she saw the back of a girl and pressed herself against a tree hiding, motioning for Maggie to stay quiet and for Arnold to get down.

Arnold and Maggie both pressed themselves behind a bush, parting the foliage and watching. It was Iris, and the girl from Two. But the girl from Two was losing, as Iris had her pinned to the floor, one arm across Two's throat as she struggled for breath. Iris grasped the knife that must have dropped from her grasp during the tousle, and stabbed the girl in the gut, before standing, grabbed the knife and running, disappearing into the thicket before any of the others could react. The three observers watched the girl writhe in pain, blood trickling from her mouth as she died slowly.

Ten minutes. Ten minutes they watched as she bled out, and she still didn't die.

Maggie rose, drawing a knife and slitting the girl's throat. She died, and a cannon shot broke the silence.

"Come on. We should go," Maggie stated, and Arnold removed Lorna from the tree and dragged her along.

Lorna's eyes were wide, scared shitless. She was shaking again, trying hard to keep from screaming. So she just closed her eyes and let herself be lead.

Iris wasn't far away. Lorna heard voices, but she couldn't even tell if they were in her head or real.

Maggie and Arnold exchanged a look. They both knew it was going to be extremely hard to keep Lorna alive right now. The competition was getting tougher.

They kept going through the thicket, up the hills. But they knew Iris was around here somewhere, and she was very much a threat. But so was Ornate, and Annalee. Not to mention the fives.

A cannon shot.

Who was it this time? People were starting to die. And there were seven, now. They all had a feeling that tomorrow would be the end of this hell.

Shaking her head Lorna fought against herself, "I'm okay..." she stated, reassuring herself. "I'm okay?" she looked at Maggie, who nodded.

"I'm okay." she stated, nodding to herself. She seemed a bit more active after that. At night she'd cry and comfort herself. But then she'd be there.

It was warmer in the hills, at night. Maggie and Arnold gave Lorna the sleeping bag, resting against a tree trunk as Lorna slept. Maggie rolled her head sideways, so she was facing Arnold.

"I'm sorry," she said, gesturing towards Lorna. He shook his head.

"Not your fault. Fucking arena," he sighed. Maggie sighed.

"I hate this."

"Everyone does."

The silence that followed was definitive, the knowledge that the end was so near both terrifying and reassuring.

Lorna woke up and shivered, "I don't want to...But I don't want to die." she muttered seriously, holding Arnold's gaze.

Arnold tucked the sleeping bag closer around his sister, before moving back towards Maggie.

"None of us do," he murmured, allowing himself to wrap an arm around Maggie and watch his sister. Maggie originally shied away from him, before accepting it and leaning into him. He may not have been madly in love with her. But he appreciated her more than he would have thought.

Lorna nodded and her gaze remained empty and resigned. She would fight if needed. But not more.

They sat in silence for a while, before Maggie rose to her feet.

"Be right back," she stated, and no one asked why. It was always too embarrassing to say, 'I need to piss'.

She was gone for a while. It was only when Arnold heard a strangled cry that he jumped to his feet.

Grabbing his javelin, he ran towards the noise. Breaking through some bushes, he found Maggie and the girl from Five fighting. The cry wasn't Maggie's – it had been the girl's. The girl's bag was to one side, and Maggie swung her axe expertly, just missing a shot that would have cleaved the skin between the girl's neck and shoulder. Arnold was about to help Maggie before a strong arm wrapped around his neck.

The guy.

Before he could get a secure grasp, Arnold rammed the butt of his javelin into the guy's stomach. Winding him, Arnold lashed out, swapping places expertly with Maggie and using his longer reach to impale the girl. The guy cried out in pain as a cannon shot rang out for the girl, and Maggie's axe had left a gaping wound in the guy's arm. He ran quickly, much faster than either of them, escaping into the woods.

The two were breathing hard, before exchanging a panicked look and running back to Lorna, who was thankfully still peaceful.

"We have to move, now," Maggie breathed. Because they realised that everyone was in extremely close proximity. And that guy would be back.

They barely paid attention to the dead that night.

The girl from District Two. The girl from District Five. Annalee.

So they were left with Ornate, Iris, the two Asters, the guy from Five and Maggie.

Six.

Six left.

Lorna didn't even register the fighting. She was too far gone at the time. Still struggling with sanity, reality and her own mind.

They'd have to kill Ornate, Iris and the guy from Five. Then it would be her, Arnold and Maggie. And feelings or not, Lorna knew Maggie wouldn't get out alive if Arnold had to protect Lorna. And Lorna would do her best to protect Arnold.

But what would happen then?

She held her knives tightly wherever they went. And when morning came she was there enough to speak, unfortunately there was little to filter her thoughts, "Only one of us will live. If any of us." She had the habit of stating the obvious, because anything else was too complex for her at the moment. She wasn't built for the Arena. She was too sensitive. She could fight, but not as good as she could survive.

Exhausted, Arnold knew they'd have to stop. None had got a satisfying night's sleep since they'd been in the arena. Both he and Maggie hadn't slept through an entire night.

They stopped sometime around three in the morning, exhausted. Stomachs rumbling, they knew that they were out of food. And they couldn't think of much else to do to impress their sponsors. Plus they weren't sure if it would be worth it – they were three people out of the five left.

"Look for food after sleep," Maggie murmured. Arnold nodded.

"I'll take first watch," he stated, throwing Lorna the sleeping bag. He realised with dismay the end could be today.

Lorna clutched the sleeping bag and sighed. The final battle would be soon. She shut her eyes tightly, trying to think of anything else. Not hard, she thought of Raul, his face, his smell, his barking laugh, his warm hands. His laugh accompanied her for once calm dreams. Maybe that meant that the end would be peaceful tonight. Maybe things would feel better after.

Arnold watched the two girls sleep – not in a creepy way. In a terrified way. The entire day was going to be restless for him, altogether. He didn't know who was going to still be alive, in twenty-four hours, and that made him angry. Upset. And he realised that he and Maggie shouldn't have fucked, because he felt like that made them more connected, somehow, and that sucked. Not that it was uncommon for Tributes to form sexual relationships within the arena – you tended to see a few per year. But forming emotional attachments to allies was never a good idea.

He realised he was pulling up grass in his anxiety.

He didn't sleep, not even after Maggie took over. He was lying close to her.

"Can't sleep?" she whispered.

"No," he murmured, and she lay down next to him.

"Not long left."

"Please don't remind me."

"I want you to promise me something."

"I promise nothing."

"Come on, humour me."

"Fine," he murmured. The cameras had to be on them now, and Maggie turned to face him.

"If someone is about to kill me, kill me first."

He was silent for a long time, just looking at the girl. Then, he did something he didn't expect – he kissed her, and she curled into his body. Warmth. There was no sex. But this almost felt more intimate. Because it was his silent assurance that he would. Whether he liked it or not. And she'd do the same for him, he knew, but only if Lorna, God forbid, died first.

This was a fucked up situation.


	23. Chapter 23

_**Day Seven: Lorna, Arnold and Maggie**_

Lorna woke up with resolve painting her features and silence instead of whimpers.

It was like the realisation of the immediate loss of her brother had snapped whatever brittle weakling had been left in her and all that was left was psychologically challenged planning.

Lorna had always been the emotional one, she cried easily, she got emotionally attached quickly, she fell in love, honestly and wholeheartedly, within moments, she always gave everything all at once. And while she realised, that that was not a healthy way to live, it was the way she was. The people that lived in their part of town knew it. She was Lorna the daydreamer, Lorna who got lost, Lorna who was fragile. Not physically, but mentally. Doctors had claimed she was not victim of illness, but rather a very frail grasp of reality at times. So when she fell in love with Raul, who proved all she'd been looking for, she really fell for him heart and soul, in a way even she hadn't fallen before. Because he had not treated her like some fragile flower, but as an equal. And back home she was known for locking herself away to calm down or running away when things got to be too upsetting. Everyone had secretly thought she'd had a few screws loose. And they weren't really wrong.

Add the stress and brutality of the Games...it was enough to push anyone over the edge. But Lorna wanted to win now. Her mind had resolved to do so. It was utterly important to her to win, suddenly.

So for the first time that morning she turned to Arnold and spoke the words she never wanted to say,

"Arnold, I want to win the Games. Please, help me."

When Lorna said those few words, Arnold sighed. He was happy she finally understood what these two allies were trying to do for her. But he wasn't quite sure how to go about it. He could kill himself, or attempt to, but the Gamemakers never really let that happen. Lorna was too weak to do it herself. Maggie...Would be dead by then, in all honesty. As much as he would never want to...It would come down to that.

They tried to find food to eat. But they'd eaten all their reserves, and what was left looked like it would poison them. The last thing they needed was to be caught shitting out whatever they'd eaten. That would be particularly embarrassing, so they went without food. As they broke camp, Maggie suggested they head north. But as they stood, a sudden rumble in the distance caught their attention. Then it found them.

The entire arena was shaking. They all fell over, scrambling to their feet.

"Earthquake!" A male voice shouted, far in the distance. Ornate. Arnold couldn't help but think that was sloppy of Ornate – but then again, he was probably panicking. Arnold helped both girls to their feet, unsure of what to do in this situation. Run.

But the ground was cracking, breaking apart. And Arnold was on the other side from Lorna. With Maggie.

This was not going the way he planned it.

He would have suggested they jump back. But the gap was too wide.

"Lorna! Stay there, we're going to get back over!"

But that was an obvious lie; the tear in the ground stretched as far as they could see. Maggie pointed and screamed.

"Lorna! Run!" Maggie screamed, gesturing at Iris, who was equally running from the tear in the ground, but growing increasingly close to Lorna.

Iris had a bow and arrow.

Arnold and Maggie had no choice but to flee – they would be no use if they were dead.


	24. Chapter 24

_**Day Seven: Arnold and Maggie**_

After running about one hundred metres into the sparse woods, the earth stopped shaking. They ran another few hundred feet before stopping, and Arnold found the guy from five's bag – he'd obviously just ran and left his bag.

As if on cue, the two stomachs rumbled in unison.

"No harm, right?" Maggie stated, and Arnold ripped open the bag, eyeing the bread with some apprehension.

"Wish me luck," he stated. He then ripped into it, taking the first bite.

He panicked immediately when he bit into a berry.

Maggie read his face, as he spat out what he hadn't swallowed, a sudden wave of panic flowing over his body.

They stared at each other for a moment, before Maggie's eyes widened, and she went into Arnold's backpack. She removed the salt, and their one bottle of water, emptying the entire baggie's contents into the water and forcing Arnold to drink it. He immediately vomited, and he realised she'd just saved his life, the poison now innocent in a pool of his own stomach contents.

"He hid berries in his food," Arnold breathed, and Maggie nodded.

"Don't eat things you find, Arnold," she said.

"This is why people work better as teams. I couldn't figure out what the salt was for."

"Exactly," she said, smiling. Then, a knife sprouted from her neck.


	25. Chapter 25

_**Day Seven: Lorna**_

Lorna scrambled to her feet just in time to see Maggie pointing and hear her scream. Spinning around she felt Iris tackle her to the ground. The two girls rolled around, Lorna screaming bloody murder into the elder ones ears.

"Where's your lover now, pretty one? Weak one?" The tribute hissed as they struggled, Iris had the disadvantage of her bow strapped to her back, Lorna the one of being smaller.

"You'll be seeing him again shortly- oh wait, I forgot you won't be going to Heaven."Lorna spat as she managed to roll them over and grabbed her knife. Fuming Iris pushed her hard thus causing the redhead to stumble backwards. They were right at the edge of the giant hole in the ground. Iris quickly strung her bow but jerked to a stop, a knife suddenly lodged between her eyes, Lorna panting in front of her.

Then she fell backwards into the canyon and Lorna turned, running along the edge, chest heaving and hard eyes flashing.

The canon shot rang triumphantly in her ears.

Then the familiar sound of a parachute stopped her. Catching it she almost threw up, remembering what she received parachutes for. Killing.

This one had a note, "Stay with us. Use your head. –F" In the box was a single serving of broth and two pills. She took them with the broth and felt a sense of peace wash over her as for the first time her mind sharpened again. She felt like herself a bit. Finally she was able to function, at least for a while. She looked at the fish in her pocket. It blinked. Time to find Arnold.

Time to go home.


	26. Chapter 26

_**Day Seven: Arnold and Maggie**_

Arnold stared in horror as Maggie fell backwards, an ungodly sound issuing from her throat that sounded like speech.

"Behind you," she rasped, as Arnold rolled out of the way in time to see the guy from five emerge from the trees. He seemed to be out of knives, and Arnold's javelin was too far away from him. Before Arnold could react, the other guy's weight thudded into him.

Five was above him, and a strong fist made connection with Arnold's temple. The world spun. But he knew he would not die here. Like this.

He was strong, too.

He pushed the other guy off him, rolling so he was above Five. He pressed his forearm into Five's throat; one arm making sure Five couldn't stop him, no matter how five clawed at Arnold's arm.

But Five wasn't dying quick enough, and Arnold realised that the flashlight from Maggie's backpack had rolled within grasping distance. He wouldn't have enough strength to hold down Five long enough to fully kill him, without some sort of weapon.

He grabbed it, feeling its heavy weight in his hand as he brought it down on Five's temple. Again. And Again. And again.

Five's skull had cracked.

And again. And again.

He was choking, out of breath. His skull was smashed.

And again.

A cannon fired. And Arnold observed his handy work, pieces of skull jutting out of the other guy's skin, an eye swollen, and the other shut. His body still.

Quickly, he scrambled back to Maggie, who wasn't dead yet.

"Shit," he breathed, throwing the bloodied flashlight from him. Maggie met his gaze.

"Do it," she gasped, blood flowing freely from her neck, and dribbling down her mouth. "Twelve never wins. I only got this far because of you. Do it."

He knew that by just removing the knife, she would die. But it would be his fault then. Would it? He didn't know any more. But he grasped the hilt, his hand still covered in Five's blood, and pulled. He rested his forehead to hers, as her eyes dulled.

"Thank you," she whispered, before a cannon fired. He felt like shit now, incapable of putting his emotions into words. Or actions. He just stared at her body for ten minutes. He wiped the blood from his forearm, from where Five had clawed desperately at life. He rubbed the bruise on his temple, and realised that Five had got another punch in which had given him a black eye, somehow, as he felt his eye swell.

He knew he had to move. Find Ornate. Kill Ornate. Get Lorna home. Maggie wouldn't want him to die here.

Because even if he won, he'd still be dead anyway.


	27. Chapter 27

_**Day Seven: Lorna**_

Lorna walked on until she heard two more canon fires. Since her fish was still blinking she gathered that Arnold wasn't dead. But she still broke into a run. At some point she came to a point where she could cross over, so she did so, the pills keeping her from slipping away, keeping her there. She didn't know how long they'd last though. Though she did recognize them. Her mother had taken them after their father died, two a day. So by tomorrow they'd have worn off. Best make of it what she could while it lasted.

"Arnold! Arnold! "Lorna was beyond the point of caring who heard her. At worst there was one person left who would kill her and in the state she was in, she would kill them without thinking. She felt like she had to. Like she owed it to someone. Raul. Her family. Her district. Finnick, Mags.

Someone, even if she couldn't place it.

The fish flashed faster and before she knew it, she was sprinting without watching, eager to find him, and in her rush she stumbled into two things.

One was Ornate, the other was a trap.

Feeling her legs being strapped together she took one knife and threw it as she fell, nailing Ornate's stomach where blood started to pool into his shirt.

"What have I caught now...a little girl...you gonna sic your brother on me, Four?" He chuckled, cracking his knuckles. A glance at the fish, whose light was steadily shinning, was enough to reassure her.

"Actually, yes, that's exactly what I'm going to do, ARNOLD!"

She rolled over just as Ornate turned to look behind him.


	28. Chapter 28

_**Day Seven: Arnold**_

Arnold received a parachute as he left the clearing containing Maggie's body. Bread. Cheese. Coffee.

He hated coffee. But he knew that meant a fight was coming, and he ate and drank quickly, his stomach knotting and unknotting with nerves.

He heard Lorna's screams as he entered another clearing. Ornate's back was to him, and Arnold took the time to quickly assess the situation; Lorna in a trap, seemingly having used her last knife on Ornate. Ornate broke the hilt of the knife that was trapped somewhere in his midriff, smart enough not to let that be used against him. Arnold weighed the javelin in his hands.

"Come on, Ornate, how could you forget me? I'm much better looking," he stated, grinning. He knew it was comical – a black eye, a loose tooth, bruises on his arms, cuts on his arms, grazes on his face...And a new-found hickey on his neck, which he realised was from Maggie. Which was almost enough to make him break down then and there, but instead he threw the javelin at Ornate. For Maggie, even if it hadn't been Ornate who had killed her.

Ornate twisted out of the line of fire, instead receiving a deep gash in his side. Ornate drew the sword from his belt, and Arnold danced out of the way, out of options.

When Ornate swung again – wildly this time, the pain getting the better of his superior skill – Arnold had enough time to kick Ornate's wrist, resulting in a satisfying crunch as Ornate dropped his sword after injuring Arnold's leg severely. Arnold quickly picked up the sword, and Ornate eyed him warily, expecting Arnold's clumsy thrusts towards Ornate's torso. But he wasn't expecting the swift chop to his neck.

Ornate's head rolled on the yellowing grass. Arnold dropped the sword as Ornate's lifeless, decapitated body hit the ground, the blood still splurting from his neck.


	29. Chapter 29

_**Day Seven: Arnold and Lorna**_

Arnold's injured leg gave out, and he landed on the grass, inching towards Ornate's body, fishing the knife out of the gaping wound.

"I can do it, Lorna. You don't have to."

Retching, Lo shied away from the grotesque corpse and hid her face in her hands, shuddering.

At his words she pulled a knife from her belt and cut the rope that had trapped her, before desperately crawling towards him.

She ripped the broken metal from his hands and hugged him tightly, despite his wounds.

"I'm so sorry about Maggie." she whispered, tears running down her cheeks again, they only had a few moments left, and they knew it. But which one of them would die?

"This is sick." she whispered, before pressing a kiss to his forehead, sobbing openly now, her hand grasping the hilt of the clean knife so tightly it turned her knuckles white. "I love you, I love you, I remember hearing that if you kill yourself that you go to hell. I don't know for sure, but I can't risk that with you. You deserve the best, you're my hero, I don't know what to do, there is no life for either of us, I don't know what to do. I love you. You deserve the best." She was shaking now, her reddish hair framing her face, her blue eyes meeting his.

"You deserve the best, Arnold, and I- I've had the best." she gave a watery chuckle, I don't want anything else. There is nothing else, you did what you could, you saved my life. You're a hero. I'm not. I didn't save anybody, I couldn't even save Raul. I lost it multiple times, I'm on pills right now, to be able to think clearly and- God, I've never thought so clearly. I can't take that risk with you, but I can with me."She gripped the hilt and plunged it into her stomach, a death that, while painful, was slow. The stomach acid would kill her in under twenty minutes.

Lorna gasped and removed the knife, falling to her side, clutching Arnold's hand.

"Have- Have me and Raul buried together, please, please do that, give his family my thanks, give- give our family my love. Protect Jaina... And know that Lorna Asters died in the Arena, Lorna Porter died with her husband." Lorna was whispering now, holding his hand tightly, their faces close, he was holding her. She was sobbing.

"I wanted to live..."she whimpered, "But there's nothing to live for. Find something to live for, save tributes, you saved me," she kissed his cheek softly. "I love you, brother." she whispered, her blue eyes closing as she spent her last minutes in silence.

Then her grip loosened and a cannon fired.

Arnold listened to her speech in silence, ready for his own death. Resigned. But when she plunged the knife into her stomach, he dove to stop her. But he was too late.

"Lorna! Lorna! Lorna, no!"

He was just shouting now, repeating those words. He held both her hands, a look of anguish murdering his own features. He trembled and shook, unable to speak as he watched his sister die.

Cannons fired and trumpets blared, but this was the first year someone had to be escorted out of the arena.


	30. Chapter 30

_**Arnold the Victor**_

He woke up on one of those tables again. Quintilla was doing something to his face, and he felt his leg. Healed. He skin was flawless again. Stubble shaved from his chin. For a blissful moment, he could almost pretend he was himself again.

But he wasn't. All the memories from the arena flooded back to him again, and he just stayed on the table, numb with his own memories.

He was barely prepared for Caesar. But he could still talk. He could still be a shade of himself. He was still capable of humour. But not now. This interview was not the place. It was too sensitive. He was dressed similarly to his first interview, his black eye gone, tooth secure in his jaw. The guy that the Capitol had loved was back.

"Arnold. Congratulations on your win. Your killing of Ornate – we were all holding our breath. But the ending, well, that was something else. What were your thoughts?"

Arnold didn't want to answer.

"Numb," he answered. "Honestly, it's hard to talk about."

"Understandable, of course. Insensitive of me. What were your thoughts about winning?"

"I had none. I was fully intent on getting...getting my sister home. Guess I failed there."

His voice broke. Mostly because he knew his sister's body wasn't even going to be buried in their home District. And he had to face his mother.

Caesar shook his head, patting Arnold's shoulder.

"No, no, my boy! Don't be so hard on yourself. It's all part of the Game."

"I still have to go home, remembering that."

Caesar seemed uncomfortable, changing the subject.

"We weren't prepared for the relationship...escalating between you and Maggie at all, either!"

Arnold looked away, uncomfortable with talking about Maggie like that.

"Neither were we," he answered simply.

"The crowd went wild. Heartbreaking, really, when she died."

"I don't want to remember it. I nearly lost it. I mean, I would have been killed by Ornate then and there if I'd stayed a moment longer."

"You have no idea how close you were. Like when you and Maggie were hiding in that bush -"

Arnold tuned out, answering the rest of the interview on autopilot. Even when he returned home, there wasn't much to take his mind off those memories. He knew now why Haymitch Abernathy was famous for his drinking. Because Arnold had decided that was how he'd probably cope as well.

They didn't have a body to bury. His mother was distraught – though she wept when he returned, he could tell that there was some part of her that wished he'd taken better care of Lorna. Jaina cried, too. But he felt like he'd let them all down.

They sent out a small candle, floating across the sea as a funeral. They were invited to the funeral in Seven, though it was incredibly rare that people left their Districts. They stayed across from Raul's family – an aged father, weeping mother and his three siblings, the two younger sisters clutching their mother, and his older sister crying silently.

Arnold's mother could barely keep her composure as Lorna's body was lowered into the ground, her body racked with sobs. Jaina held his hand, burying her face in his shirt as he held her. He just stared at the ground, his blue eyes blank, for once in his life.

It was an open casket; the Capitol repaired the bodies, unless they were completely mauled, for the burials. Raul was in the traditionally worn clothing from Seven, a checked cotton shirt and dark pants, Lorna's token necklace around his neck. They'd replaced his legs with prosthetics, but they were hidden by the pants anyway. He wore a content smile, his eyes were closed. Lorna's dark red curls framed her delicate face, her blue eyes also closed, dressed in a white dress and Raul's Token necklace around her neck. She looked peaceful, as if she was just sleeping. As Victor and Victor's family, the Asters had had two simple rings made for the couple, which they wore on their left ring fingers.

The gravestones read as following;

_Raul Porter, Tribute to his District.  
A strong man and soft lover. Rest in Peace. _

_His greatest trait was his cheer, may he be happy wherever he is now._

And Lorna's;

_Lorna Asters-Porter, Tribute to District Four._

_A beloved Sister and a sweet Dove. Rest in Peace._

_Her greatest weapon was her Heart; let her know the love she has shown will not go unnoticed. May she be loved where she is now._

As the two lovers had wished, they were to be buried together. Raul's family harboured no hard feelings towards the Asters and was grateful that Raul had found love in their daughter, they felt pained by their loss as well as the loss of Lorna, and they'd have wished to know her.

The Asters family were silent. There wasn't much to say – 'I'm sorry your son died; yes, my daughter died too, but hey, my son won the Hunger Games!' could hardly have worked. The two families were polite to each other, but the Asters family didn't stay too long after the funeral.

Arnold took a leaf out of Haymitch's book a few months into his residency in the Victor's Village.

He couldn't sleep. Though there were many other Victors in District Four, some coped better than others. Arnold didn't necessarily drink in public – he'd just drink so much he'd pass out. Sleep.

All he could see were all those he'd killed.

Even on the tour, he couldn't lock eyes with the families. He just couldn't.

Even when he made it to Twelve, and identified Maggie's family, the best he could do was fight back that feeling of anguish. The only kind of person that could understand the pain he felt every day was another Victor – but Finnick and he had conflicting personalities. Not unpleasant to each other – but then again, not best friends either. Arnold didn't cope.

And he did what the Capitol said, too. If they told him to sleep with a woman, and they did, he would. He couldn't figure out what kept him motivated to move through his life. Even though he kept living, no relationship could bear, in the end, the strain of the psychological state he was in.

Sanity was there. Soberness was not.

But that was the Hunger Games. That was what it did.

**The End**

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